A Tale of Two Princesses
by littledrummergirl257
Summary: Follow the lives of the mothers of Elsa, Anna, and Rapunzel as they grow up together and discover life together. Good-natured Clara is destined to become a great queen, while adventure-seeking Katherine discovers the love of her life in the most unexpected place. Eventually these two goofy sisters become mothers, and only then do they realize that they're in for some fun.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Here I go, starting another fanfiction. I have been neglecting my other fanfictions some, but I think that I am ready to jump onto this whole _Frozen/Tangled_ crossover bandwagon. They're my two favorite Disney princess movies, and I decided to create my own take on just how Rapunzel and Eugene ended up in Arendelle for Elsa's coronation, and this fanfiction is what is coming of it.**

**I did some research on the names of Rapunzel's mother and Anna/Elsa's mom, and I did find some places that said the queen of Corona's name is Primrose. I never actually found real, solid proof of that, so I have decided to give her another name. If anyone does find actual, real proof of that being her name, go ahead and tell me. I would love to hear from you.**

**I have a plot ready to go with this story, and it's going to end up being a chapter story that follows the life of the mothers of Rapunzel and Anna and Elsa as they grow up, fall in love, and become mothers. I plan on the story continuing until the events of _Frozen_, and for it to have at least thirty chapters. Thank you for your interest in this story, and I hope that it is a different and fun take on what connects Rapunzel, Anna and Elsa. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters from Frozen or Tangled. They all belong to Disney, and I am borrowing them for entertainment only purposes.**

**Also, credit goes to Azalea's Dolls for the cover for this story.**

**12/31/2014 Update: This story has not been touched for several months, but it's for good reason. Last summer I recruited an amazing beta reader, RandomButLoved, and they have helped to transform this story into one that I am now very proud to have published on this website. I will be replacing Chapters 1-10 with the new versions of each chapter, which will be much more exciting to read. Also, additional chapters will begin to be posted once more, so prepare yourselves for new chapters that will continue to follow the adventures of Clara and Kath.**

**And, of course, HUGE thanks to RandomButLoved! I love working with you, and you have been amazing through all of the chaos of the last few months, and you have been so patient with my crazy schedule! Thank you so, so, so much! :)**

* * *

"Take that, you evil dragon! I am the mighty warrior who has come to save the kingdom from your evil clutches!" Five-year-old Princess Katherine, born in Corona picked up a handful of mud to throw at the "dragon." The young girl stared defiantly at the tree she had been pretending was a dragon, then picked up a stick she found lying on the ground, and began to charge at the mud-covered tree. As she ran through the mud puddle, she tripped and fell with a shriek. Mud splattered around her, reaching the skirt of her older sister, Clara.

"Kath, you're making a mess," Clara pointed out, crossing her arms in a similar fashion to the one that their mother used during a lecture. The older princess backed away, picking her skirt up out of the mud with a groan. Kath grinned at her six-year-old sister.

"Do you want to help me defeat the evil dragon that's taking over the kingdom?" the five-year-old asked innocently. Clara rolled her eyes and backed away a few more steps.

"Kath, we are princesses. Princesses don't throw mud at trees," Clara stated, sticking her chin out stubbornly. "Mother says that we mustn't get dirty, especially when we are in new dresses."

Kath stuck out her bottom lip. "But it feels so squishy and slimey and it's fun. Will you please play with me, Clara?" The younger princess stood up out of the mud puddle, and quickly approached her sister, grabbing Clara's clean hand before she could pull away.

Clara hesitated, looking at her mud-covered sister, then at her own lavender gown. There was already mud splattered along the bottom hem, and if Kath came any closer to her, it would surely get even more mud splattered onto it.

"Please?" Kath pleaded, tugging on her sister's hand.

"Oh, fine," Clara said, a smile appearing on her face. "Just let me take off my slippers so that they don't get—"

The princess was unable to finish her sentence, as Kath had already pulled her head-first into the mud-pit. Clara let out a scream that quickly turned into squeals of laughter as the sisters took turns throwing mud at the tree, and eventually each other, before they finally began making "mud-angels."

Before long, they heard someone clear their throat. The princesses looked up to see the queen, their mother, with her arms folded across her chest.

"And what do the princesses of Corona think they're doing?" the queen questioned. The pose that the queen held was one almost identical to the one that Clara had assumed earlier when she had first found her sister playing in the mud. A tiny smile tugged at the corners of the queen's straight mouth. Clara and Kath looked at each other, neither of them answering their mother.

Finally, Clara stood up, and took her sister's hand to help her up as well. "I'm sorry, Mother," she said, looking up into her mother's eyes with remorse. "It was my fault. I asked Kath to play in the mud with me."

The queen raised her eyebrows, not believing what her older daughter had said, but she didn't question Clara's statement. "You both know better than to play in the mud. Those dresses were brand new, and now they are ruined. I'm going to close my eyes and count to three, and by the time I open them, I don't want to see any dirty little princesses in my sight. I want you two to both go inside and go to the servants' baths to wash up, then back to your rooms for the rest of the night. Understand?"

Clara and Kath both nodded, hurrying away from their mother before she even reached one.

* * *

Several hours later, the two princesses had bathed, changed into more casual clothes and had their long brown hair brushed and left to dry. Clara and Kath sat on the floor of their bedroom, playing with their dolls in a much more sensible manner compared to the mud war they had engaged in earlier.

"I don't get why Mother never wants us to get dirty," Kath said, putting her doll down and laying back on the floor.

"She wants us to be ladies," Clara answered. "Because someday I'll be queen of Corona, and queens definitely do not get dirty." Clara placed her own doll down next to Kath's, and laid down on the floor next to her sister.

"Well, why not?" Kath questioned, her bottom lip pouting.

"I don't know," Clara admitted with a shrug.

The sisters didn't talk for several more minutes, each encompassed in their own thoughts. Eventually, Clara's stomach growled.

"I want some chocolate," she stated staring at the ceiling.

Kath grinned. "I smelled chocolate-chip cookies in the kitchen earlier."

Clara stood up and said, "Let's go and see if we can sneak in and get some." Kath giggled and followed her sister out the door. The two made their way to the kitchen, and stopped just outside the door for safety. Clara peered around the corner, seeing one of the head cooks exiting through the far door with a large pot in her hands. Clara grabbed Kath's hand. "Let's go!" she said, dragging Kath into the kitchen. Immediately, the sisters spotted a plate full of fresh-baked cookies sitting on the counter.

"Here! I'll lift you up, Kath. Take some for both of us," Clara instructed, remembering that her sister may just take all the cookies for herself.

Kath let Clara lift her up, and she ecstatically reached for the cookies. "One for you, and one for me!" she chanted happily. Clara giggled underneath her sister's weight, trying to shift into a more comfortable position.

"Take two for both of us!" Clara whispered as she caught a whiff of the princesses' favorite snack.

"One more for you, and one more for me!" Kath continued, taking two more cookies off the plate.

"Um...get two more!" Clara added, feeling her stomach rumble once more. Kath giggled and clutched the counter as Clara once again shifted her position.

"And another one for you, and another one for me," Kath said as she took them. She paused before she allowed Clara to lift her back down, then said, "Wait! One more, just so we have some for later too!" Clara smiled, but allowed her sister to take two more cookies off the plate.

"Kath, hurry up! I think someone may be coming!" Clara exclaimed as she heard two people conversing on the other side of the door that the cook had exited earlier. Kath leapt down off of her sister's shoulders, and giggled as they both hurried out of the kitchen.

"You have four cookies, and I have four cookies," Kath told her as they began to sneak down the hallway back to their room.

"That's eight cookies!" Clara told her, looking around a corner before she led Kath back to the hallway that their room was in. The princesses eventually reached their room, and when they entered and Clara closed the door, Kath dropped the cookies onto the table.

"Good work!" Clara said, taking one of the cookies. She looked at her sister, and Kath gave her a grin, her mouth already full of one of the chocolate-chip cookies.

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**Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading! I hope that you enjoyed Clara and Kath, and that I managed to satisfy your picture of what they may act like. If you enjoyed it, feel free to add it to your alerts or review. I would appreciate either of those. Feedback is fantastic. Thanks for reading! I really appreciate everyone who is brave enough to try reading any of my work. Thank you! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I am very excited about this story, so I am updating two days in a row! That never happens for me! Being a busy college student sometimes...well...almost always leads to a crazy schedule and no free time. Miraculously, I have managed to get some free time over this weekend, and I also am procrastinating my homework, so updating my fanfictions is at least something productive that I can do, right? Anyways, this chapter takes place several years after the first chapter, and Kath and Clara share a special moment with each other. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks for reading!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from _Frozen_ or _Tangled. _They both belong to Disney, and I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.**

* * *

"Ugh!" Kath slammed her hand down on the piano that she had been playing, and angrily stared at the sheet of music in front of her. All of the black and white scribbles confused her, and it was giving her a headache. "I'll never learn how to play this stupid thing!" she growled, she slammed her hand down once more on the keys, making her sister wince.

Ten-year-old Clara glanced over her younger sister's shoulder. "Well when you're so tense, you're never going to be able to play it. Calm down, Kath," Clara told her sister. The older princess gently strummed a chord on the guitar that she was playing, the chord filling the room with a warm feel.

The nine-year-old turned around to glare at Clara. "I'm not tense," Kath stated, her lips forming a straight line.

"Yes, you are," Clara argued. "Take a deep breath, and start here," she said, pointing to the beginning of a phrase in the music while placing her other hand gently on her sister's shoulder. "Make sure that you keep breathing while you play, and don't rush this rhythm, all right?" She continued, pointing to a half-note tied to a sixteenth-note halfway through the phrase.

Kath hesitated, but followed her older sister's directions. Clara's gentle hand on her shoulder comforted her in her frustration. When she made it to the part that was giving her trouble, she took a deep breath and focused on what she was playing, attempting to command her fingers to follow the music on the page. Her concentration lasted just long enough to get to the end of the phrase, but as soon as she began the next phrase, Kath and Clara both cringed as she hit several wrong notes at once.

"That was better!" Clara told her excitedly, forcing a smile onto her face.

"Thank you for helping me," Kath told her, smiling proudly. She glanced down at her hands that were now lying in her lap. "I'll still never be as good at piano as you are, Clara. My fingers are too clumsy."

Clara shrugged. "Just keep practicing, and eventually you'll get there. I wasn't any better than you are now when I was your age," Clara told her. She motioned for Kath to scoot over on the bench, and she plopped down next to her sister. Kath stared at Clara, wondering what her sister was going to do, and Clara turned to smile at Kath, her bright green eyes glittering. "We're going to play a duet," Clara stated. She reached across Kath and began playing a simple pattern on the piano with her right hand. "You play this." Clara repeated the pattern a few more times before letting Kath play in her place. Kath began to play, her fingers still unsure of where to go. "E flat, not E natural," the older sister corrected warmly.

"Oh, sorry!" Kath said sheepishly, fixing her mistake.

"Great job!" Clara said after Kath had played the pattern through correctly several times. "Now I'm going to add my part, okay?" Kath nodded, unable to speak as she concentrated on playing her part correctly.

The older princess began to play a much more complicated part with both hands on the lower end of the piano. The two played the song continuously, occasionally looking up to smile at each other. Before long, they heard thunder outside, which caused Kath to flinch, which messed up her pattern.

Clara stopped playing and stood up from the piano. "That was a lot of fun," she told her sister as she walked over to the window to watch the rain begin to pour out of the sky. "We should show Mother and Father sometime."

Kath stood up and hurried to the window as well, watching the rain with her sister. "We should," she agreed, smiling proudly. For a few minutes, the sisters stood together watching the rain fall on the kingdom of Corona as thunder rolled in the sky and lightening occasionally flashed across the sky. "Hey Clara?" Kath said after a few minutes of silence.

"Yeah?" Clara responded, glancing at her younger sister. Kath was staring out the window, focused on something outside.

"Thank you for always helping me. You're so good at everything you do," Kath told her, the words spilling out of her mouth after another twenty seconds of silence.

Clara blushed, and was thankful that Kath was focused on the rain and didn't see her face reddening—she wasn't sure how to respond to the compliment. "Thank you, Kath," she said, her tone soft. She paused before continuing. "You know that I'll always be around when you need help, right, Kath? Any time you have a question or a problem, you can always talk to me."

Kath turned and grinned at her older sister, whose reddened face was beginning to fade back to its original color. "Oh, I know," she said. "I plan on always coming to talk to you whenever I have a problem. You always know what to do."

Clara laughed and gave her sister a shove. "Not _always_," she said after the two shared their laugh.

"No," Kath corrected, looking back out the window and linking arms with her sister. "Always. You're the big sister. That's the rule. Even when we grow up and get married and have children of our own, you'll always be the smarter one." Clara glanced back at her sister, giving her a friendly glare.

"Stop it. I'm not any smarter than you are. I just have one more year of experience with life," Clara said. She smiled at Kath, whom she loved dearly, and could never be mad at for more than a few hours. She and Kath were best friends, and nothing could separate them. Clara did understand that eventually, they would both get married and that Kath would probably move away from Corona, and she would stay in Corona as queen, but that didn't change who they were at this moment.

"Let's go find some chocolate. I'm hungry," Kath stated, taking a step back from the window as the rain stopped. Clara laughed, and followed her sister out of the music room, but felt a tinge of sadness tug on her heart when she realized that the day when the two of them would be separated was coming up sooner than she wanted it to.

* * *

**Author's Note: Yes, much like two other sisters that we know of, Clara and Kath love their chocolate. But how often do you find a girl who doesn't love chocolate? I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I know that there hasn't been too much action yet, but eventually, there will be more, I promise. Thank you so much for reading! The next update will be up hopefully sooner rather than later!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: I'm so excited to get to put up the third chapter for this story! I hope that everyone is enjoying this story so far. I've really enjoyed writing it, and I'm super excited for where it's going to go. The next couple of chapters are also almost ready to post, so they will be up soon. In this chapter, Clara is now eleven, and Kath is ten, and they are really just two rather sheltered girls who want to escape the confinements of the life of being a princess. Enjoy!**

* * *

Princess Clara of Corona yelped as a raindrop landed on the middle of the page she was reading in her favorite book while sitting in the palace gardens. The eleven-year-old princess gave the sky a glare and sighed heavily, closing her book to protect the pages from the rain. Her sister, ten-year-old Princess Katherine, looked up from her own book, and glanced up at the sky with a content sigh.

"I love rain," Kath said, her face lighting up as she realized that large drops were starting to fall around them. She grinned at her eleven-year-old sister, enthusiasm lighting up her blue eyes. "Do you want to go run around in it?" she questioned.

Clara glared at her younger sister as she stood up, gracefully spreading her skirt around her. "Katherine," she began, using her sister's full name. The younger princess merely responded by making a face at her older sister's use of her dreaded full name before Clara could continue with what she was saying. The older princess ignored her sister's response, pretending to not be bothered by the annoying gesture. "We are princesses, and princesses do not play in the rain." Clara turned on her heel and began to march back toward the castle, her book tucked safely under her arm, where the rain would not hurt it.

Kath glared at her sister's back, and began slowly trudging after her sister, not wanting to play in the rain on her own. Having fun really didn't feel right unless Clara was laughing next to her. She and Clara seemed to be having less and less time to spend giggling over silly things lately. Clara had been much more focused on their lessons every day, and had spent more time with their mother, learning about the duties of being queen. While Clara seemed to enjoy the time spent with their mother on a daily basis, Kath spent much more of her time hiding from her tutors and exploring the castle—even though she already knew almost every nook and cranny by heart. But still, every day she wished that her scholarly older sister was beside her—nothing was the same without Clara.

As Clara entered the castle, she was met by her mother, who had been walking down the hallway talking with a servant. "Hello, Mother," Clara said, curtsying to the queen. The queen smiled nodded acknowledgement at her older daughter.

"Hello, Clara," she responded in her usual calm tone. "Were you outside?"

"Kath and I were reading outside in the gardens, but then it began to rain, so I decided to come inside. Kath should be right behind me," Clara told her mother, as she glanced over her shoulder.

Kath was still making her way inside, one of her arms outstretched to catch the falling rain, a large grin on her face as she began to twirl around in the rain, keeping one arm tucked close to her body, protecting her book.

"Oh, your sister," the queen said, a small smile appearing on her face as she watched her younger daughter spin. "Ever the adventurer, our Katherine."

Clara glanced up at her mother, confusion plastered on her face. Normally her mother's reaction to Kath's love of being active and often making messes was complete disapproval; but now the queen seemed to be almost proud of her younger daughter's joyful gallivant through the rain. "I thought you didn't like it when the two of us did unladylike things," Clara stated.

The queen smiled at her daughter and tucked a piece of Clara's hair behind her ear. "I don't always approve of you being unladylike, but I love it when you two show off your uniqueness. You, Clara, are intelligent and inquisitive. Kath is spirited and ambitious. You are both different, and someday you will both make fine queens. You're still in the process of growing up. There's no need for you to be perfect ladies just yet."

Clara bit her bottom lip for a moment before responding, realizing that her childhood may have been very different had she known her mother had this viewpoint on their personalities. "But you always scold us when we say the wrong thing, or trip over our skirts, or bump into tables…"

The queen laughed heartily, her ringing voice echoing through the corridor. "Behind every queen is a young girl, who just wants to be herself. It is important when people are around for a queen to be a symbol of strength and grace. But, when a queen is alone, she is no longer a queen. She is just a girl, free to do whatever she loves. That was a lesson that took some time for me to learn, and sometimes I feel like I'm still learning that lesson. It all depends on who is around, Clara." The queen gestured to the empty courtyard. All of the servants and gardeners had run for cover when the sky burst open and rain began to pour down. "Right now, Kath can just be herself, while no one is watching. Moments like this one are the ones where I am the most proud of you two."

Clara glanced behind her mother, and realized that the servant her mother had been talking to had disappeared. "I think I understand," Clara said, wrinkling her nose.

"Good," the queen said, putting her arm around her oldest daughter's shoulders to give her a quick hug. "Now don't let your sister stay in her wet clothes once she makes it inside. We don't need her to catch a cold."

The queen let go of Clara and floated back down the corridor, quickly transforming into her queenly persona. Clara stayed where she was and watched Kath continue to spin in the rain, gradually making her way toward the door to the castle.

* * *

Later, both of the princesses were in their bedroom. A seamstress had just left their room, where she had been fitting both of the princesses for new dresses that they would be wearing for the princesses' upcoming birthday celebration. As the two were redressing themselves, Kath said: "Clara, someday, can we go on an adventure together?"

Clara did not answer right away, choosing to think before she responded to her sister's question, especially after the conversation she had with her mother earlier that day. After several moments had passed, and Clara could tell that Kath was becoming impatient, Clara said, "I don't see why we shouldn't be able to, but I do see why we couldn't."

Kath raised an eyebrow, momentarily stunned by the simple yet complicated answer her sister had given her. "What?" she asked, her tone dry.

Clara smiled, turning around so that Kath could fasten her dress in the back. "I mean that going on an adventure, just the two of us having fun and exploring together, would be a lot of fun. But at the same time, we are princesses, and if we were able to spend more than five minutes outside the palace walls without guards around, it would be a miracle."

Kath nodded, but grinned, pulling a little bit too tightly on her sister's dress. Clara let out a small yelp, and Kath apologized before continuing. "So we just have to find a way to distract the guards so that we can sneak off together."

Clara turned back around and put her hands on her hips. "That wasn't what I meant, Kath."

"But think about it! We could sneak away from the guards, and go off on our own. Or we could just sneak out of the castle in the middle of the night, or we could distract the guards with something and they won't even notice us leave," Kath began before Clara cut her off.

"No, Kath," Clara scolded. The tone of Clara's voice made Kath's excitement sink some, and she already began to miss the fun side of her sister as the princess side returned. "Mother and Father would be furious! It's impossible."

Kath's face fell, and she didn't respond for several minutes. After she finished dressing herself, she walked over to her desk and took out a piece of parchment and dipped her quill in ink and began to draw on the parchment. Clara walked over to look over her sister's shoulder at what Kath was doing, hoping to reconcile some with her sister who had obviously had her feelings hurt.

"Why are you drawing a map?" Clara questioned after realizing what Kath was doing.

Kath grinned mischievously, feeling triumph with her sister's interest in her activity. "I don't believe in the impossible. I'm going to make a map of where the guards are patrolling and when, and eventually, we'll sneak out of this castle. We can go on adventure together, just the two of us! You said yourself that you wouldn't mind one, Clara. So let's make it happen."

Clara opened her mouth to protest, but remembered her mother's words from earlier. Kath was "spirited and ambitious," in the words of her mother, and had taken Clara's protests as a challenge. But Clara herself was very curious about life outside the castle. She regularly saw the village, but rarely did she ever see the village in its real essence, where they weren't putting on a show for the royal family as they rode past in their carriage. Maybe Kath was right in attempting to escape the castle and see outside their confinements.

"Okay," the older princess said, a small smile appearing on her face.

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**Author's Note: I hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter! Please don't hesitate to follow or review this story if you really liked it. Updates will be up soon, and Clara and Kath will be getting into some trouble. Thank you so much for reading! I really do appreciate everyone who takes the time to read my stories! I enjoy writing them so much, and I really hope that you all enjoy reading them. Thank you!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: First and foremost, now that I have had a few reviewers for this story so far, I'd like to give them each a shout-out. Huge thank-you to .397, Elena, and MyHikari for their reviews! I enjoyed reading all of them, and I hope that you know that hearing feedback is a huge benefit to me. I love to hear what my readers are thinking about the story so that I can help to make the story something that they will enjoy.**

**Second, I have the fourth installment of this story ready. This chapter is a bit shorter than the others, which I know haven't been very long to begin with, but as time goes on, the chapters will be getting longer. I hope that you all enjoy this story as much as I am enjoying writing it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen or Tangled, or any of their characters. They belong to Disney, and I am not Disney.**

* * *

Clara walked back to her room in silence, nodding to a servant that passed as she approached her bedroom door. Clara had a large stack of books in her arms, and the servant noticed when she began to struggle.

"Can I help you, Your Highness?" the servant asked.

Eleven-year-old Clara smiled kindly at the servant, but shook her head nonetheless. "No, thank-you," she told her. "I can handle it."

"Yes, Your Highness," the servant responded, curtsying to the princess before continuing on her way.

Clara made her way to the door, and crouched down to use her elbow to turn the door handle. However, when she leaned on it, the handle didn't turn. She raised her eyebrows and tried again. The handle still refused to budge. Clara turned around to look at the door. What was wrong with it?

She placed her books on the floor gently before grabbing the handle with both hands and attempting to twist it again. The door still didn't move. After scanning the hallway around her to make sure that no one was around, Clara pressed on the handle once more, and threw all of her bodyweight against the door, grunting as she collided with the door. The door swung open, and Clara fell into her room. Behind the door, a chair crashed to the floor.

After recovering, Clara stood up and looked across the room to where Kath stood by the open window, her eyebrows raised. A chair had been blocking the door, and Clara automatically knew that her sister was up to something.

"You could've knocked and I would have let you in," Kath stated, as if a chair barricading their bedroom door was a common phenomenon.

"Why were you blocking the door?" Clara demanded, her hands on her hips. Remembering her books on the floor outside the room, she turned to grab the stack and bring them in to set them on her desk.

Kath ran over and closed the door and leaned against it after Clara had reentered the room. "I didn't want anyone to interrupt me," she stated simply. She picked up the chair and wedged it underneath the door handle, as she had it before Clara knocked it down.

"What are you doing?" Clara questioned.

"You said you wanted to go on adventure with me. I've got a plan now," Kath told her, motioning to the open window. Clara noticed that a sheet was tied to the curtain rod above the window. The sheet hung out the window, and Clara realized with a start what her sister had planned on doing.

Her jaw dropped. "You were going to scale the castle walls?" she asked, staring at Kath. Kath nodded proudly. "Are you insane? Do you have any idea how dangerous that would be? Especially with your line tied to that curtain rod. It would break with your weight on it!"

Kath's face drooped as Clara began to criticize her plan. "I guess I didn't think of that…" the younger princess stated, folding her hands behind her back sheepishly. Why couldn't she think through plans as well as Clara could? It made her a little big jealous of her older sister, but she didn't mind all that much—so long as they could work together.

"You could've fallen and really hurt yourself, Kath! We're on the third floor! That's a long way to fall!" Clara continued.

Kath didn't reply, and Clara suddenly realized that she was destroying her sister's spirits by criticizing her plan. Clara's worry about her sister's mental health suddenly changed to shame. Kath had just been trying to come up with a way to escape the castle, and Clara hadn't helped her at all, even though she had practically promised her sister that she would help. "I-I'm sorry," Clara stammered, looking down. Her eyes filled with tears. "I didn't mean to yell at you."

"It's okay," Kath responded, her voice breaking slightly. "I should have thought more about my plan before trying to do it. I could have even asked you what you thought about it. I guess I was just excited and I knew you were in the library, and you always take forever when you're in the library, so I knew—" Clara laughed and grabbed her sister's hand, interrupting her rambling, pulling her into a hug.

"How about we forget about this little escapade, and from now on, I help you with your plans?" Clara asked her sister after they had hugged for a few seconds.

"Okay," Kath said to Clara. "We won't try to scale the castle walls with bed sheets again with our new plans."

Clara laughed again. "We won't completely rule it out. But we'll take a few more safety precautions if we do try it again," she stated. Kath laughed, and Clara let her go. Clara loved the sound of her little sister's laughter, and knowing that her sister was happy once again filled her with happiness. She glanced over at the desk where Kath's plans were laid out.

"How about we start on a new plan right now?" Clara asked, walking over to their desks. She pushed her own desk closer to Kath's. Kath followed her over, grinning, and they began their incredible plan properly, knowing that together, it would never fail.

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**Author's Note: Clara and Kath are going to be getting into some trouble coming up. Stay tuned for the continuance of their adventures! If you enjoyed this chapter, don't be afraid to drop a review or follow this story. I love getting feedback, good or bad, and love hearing from my readers. I do try to reply to all reviews when I can, so don't be afraid to ask questions either. Thank you, everyone, for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! Thank you all for reading this far into the story. This story still has a loooong way to go. I'm beginning to outline the rest of the story (beginning may have been the wrong word...) and there will be AT LEAST 80 chapters, probably more. So stay tuned for the continued adventures of Clara and Kath. But anyways, here is the next chapter, where they embark on one of their first adventures. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter.**

**I'd also like to give a shoutout to the two reviewers for Chapter 4. Thank you bunches and bunches to ElsaFrozen and MyHikari for your reviews! I loved reading them, and you two are great! Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tangled or Frozen. They both belong to Disney. I am have never been, nor will I ever be Disney. So they're not mine. I am merely borrowing them for the purposes of entertainment.**

* * *

"You know, Clara…" Kath, now twelve years old, mused from her place on her bed. Her feet waved back and forth in the air behind her as she stared at her notes laid out in front of her. "We've been working on this plan for two years now."

"Yes," Clara said, biting her finger as she paced behind Kath. "But I still don't feel like it's perfected. And I don't know if you've got the grace to do it yet," she added, giving Kath a shove. Kath stuck her tongue out at her sister.

There was a sudden knock on the door, and both of the princesses jumped. Clara ran to open the door. "Hello, Marie," she said to the servant with a smile.

Marie curtsied to the princess in recognition. "Your guards are prepared for your afternoon horseback riding time," Marie told Clara as she rose from her curtsy. Clara nodded to her in recognition.

"Thank you, Marie. Kath and I will be out as soon as we get changed," Clara told her.

"Would you like any help, Your Highness?" Marie asked. Without waiting for an answer, the elderly servant stepped into the princesses' room, and immediately walked to the dresser that held the princesses' riding clothes. Clara made a face and quickly rushed to Kath's bed to give her a nudge.

"Oh! Hello, Marie," Kath gasped, throwing her arms over the notes they had spread out on their desk. She hadn't noticed Marie had entered the room until she felt Clara give her a shove. Marie raised an eyebrow at the princess trying to inconspicuously hide the bits of parchment spread out on the bed, though Kath merely gave the servant a toothy grin as she beckoned Clara over to begin to dress in her riding clothes.

"Do you mind if the rest of the maids and I come in to clean up your room while you two are out riding?" Marie asked as Kath began carefully sliding the parchment into a stack, face-down, trying to not make too much of a scene.

"Oh, why not?" Clara said before Kath could refuse the offer; Kath then gave her sister a glare.

"Great!" Marie said, her eyes flashing to Kath as she placed the bits of parchment in her desk drawer.

After Clara's riding clothes were on, Marie began to help Kath into her riding clothes. The three women remained in silence as Kath was dressed, and Marie began to urge the girls out the door. "You two should get a move on so that it's not dark when you come back from riding. Your parents would like to have supper on time tonight." She eyed the two girls, who exchanged looks. The last time the princesses had gone horseback riding, they had gone much farther into the forest than they had intended, and returned to the castle several hours after their normal supper time.

"Yes, Marie," Clara said, beginning to walk toward the doorway.

Kath hesitated, before saying:, "Marie, I think I left my blue ribbon that I like to use for my hair in the library. Would you mind going to get it for me?" Marie looked somewhat taken aback by Kath's request, but followed the princess's bid without objection.

Clara raised her eyebrow at Kath after Marie had left.

"Did you see how she was looking at our plan?" Kath asked when she saw Clara's look. "We need to hide it—in a place better than my desk drawer!"

Clara rolled her eyes. "Kath, you're just scared that someone's going to steal our plan."

Kath gave her sister a look of disbelief. "Of course I am! We just said that we've been working on this plan for two years now! If someone steals it, all of our work will be gone!"

Again, the older princess shook her head. "If you're really that scared that Marie might take it, then you can hide it." Kath started toward the desk, contemplating her best option for a new hiding place. "Make sure you put it somewhere that you'll remember, too!" Clara added, a sly grin on her face.

Kath nodded and retrieved their plan from her desk drawer and brought it to the closet. "I'm going to put it in my boot," she stated matter-of-factly.

Clara simply laughed, rolling her eyes at her sister. "Okay," she responded, grinning. "Katherine, you are so silly," she added as Kath exited the closet, and together the sisters left their bedroom. "Did you really leave your blue ribbon in the library?" Clara asked as they walked down the hallway.

The younger princess grinned and pulled the ribbon out of her sleeve and began to tie her hair back out of her face. "Nope."

"Katherine!" Clara scolded. Kath grinned at her and began to run down the hallway.

* * *

"Your Highnesses, we should head back soon," one of the guards told Clara and Kath as they rode down a path in the forest.

"Thank you, Phillip," Clara said, smiling at the man. She agreed with him; the damp grass, mushrooms, and vibrant flowers were very strong smells compared to the scents she was used to within the walls of the castle. The array of odors was beginning to make her head ache.

"Wait! I want to try to go this way!" Kath whispered when Phillip began to ride away. Kath steered her horse off the path, and galloped into the trees.

"Katherine!" Clara hissed when she noticed that Phillip hadn't heard her sister. Clara looked back to yell at Phillip to come back, but realized that Phillip wouldn't hear her. Kath had already galloped almost out of sight, and Clara decided to follow her sister to get her to come back to the path. "Come on, Strawberry," she told her horse as they left the path to follow Kath through the trees.

Kath laughed as her horse, Silver, galloped through the trees. The twelve-year-old hadn't noticed that her guard had not followed her, and only stopped when she realized that she didn't hear the sound of horses behind her. Not far behind her, was Clara.

"Katherine!" Clara said after she had caught up to her sister. "You know that we're not supposed to ride off alone! If Mother and Father hear about this little excursion of yours, they will be furious!"

"You followed me," Kath pointed out, making a face at her sister. Clara had been using Kath's full name far too much for Kath's taste.

"Only because I didn't want you to wander off and get lost," Clara spat back at her.

"I won't get lost," Kath argued with an eyeroll. "I have a very good sense of direction."

Clara glared at her younger sister. "Good," she said, "Then you can lead us back to the trail."

"I will. Just be patient. It takes time," Kath said, looking around. As the sister's had argued, their horses had trotted in a circle. Neither of the princesses was sure which direction they had come from, and couldn't see the placement of the sun through the thick roof of the forest. "I think we came from this way," she said finally, steering Silver in a random direction that had a tree that she thought looked familiar.

Clara hesitated, but followed her sister nonetheless, choosing to keep silent instead of criticizing her sister again.

Eventually, the two found their way into a large clearing, and for a brief moment, both of their eyes lit up in wonder; this much open space was a rare sight for the two young ladies. Before Kath could urge her horse into a gallop across the field, her sister caught her arm.

"This was not the way from which we came," Clara pointed out flatly. As much as she wanted to spend as much time as possible in the large, open area, she knew that she and her sister needed to go back to the castle.

"Yeah, but do you see what I see?" Kath asked, a tone of excitement in her voice.

Clara looked in the direction that Kath was staring, and smiled to herself. A large abandoned castle lay across the clearing. "Wow," Clara breathed; Kath's discovery changed her attitude. She looked sideways at her sister, and they grinned to each other before they both urged their horses to a gallop across the clearing. Within a minute, they were both in front of the castle, staring at the dark windows.

"Let's go inside," Clara said, beginning to dismount her horse.

"One step ahead of you," Kath replied. The younger princess was already on the ground and beginning to head up the stone steps of the castle.

Clara followed her, but before they reached the door, they heard several shouts from behind them. They turned and saw guards in the purple and gold of Corona racing across the field.

"We're caught…" Clara groaned in defeat. "Kath, we can't go in now. They'll already be furious with us."

Kath nodded sadly, but both princesses turned to remount their horses as the guards caught up to them.

"Your parents will be very upset with both of you when they hear about this adventure of yours," Phillip snapped after they came to a halt next to where Strawberry and Silver stood. "You both know that riding off alone is forbidden to you two!"

"I-I'm sorry…" the sisters stammered together, hanging their heads.

"Let's get back to the castle now," Phillip said. His tone was much softer when he realized that he had snapped at the two normally very sweet princesses. They would get enough of a lecture from their parents when they returned to the castle; there was no need for him to continue.

As they rode away, Clara and Kath gave each other sad glances. Once they reached the gates of castles again, their hands instinctively found one another's. Entering the castle gates was one more reminder of the confinement they were kept in every day. Their status as princesses was really starting to irk both of them.

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**Author's Note: And they got busted...sad day. But I promise that eventually, they will succeed in an adventure that will change their lives, just after they get a little bit older.**

**Thank you again for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want, don't be afraid to leave a review, or to follow my story. I love hearing feedback, especially from my readers. I do try to include anything that my reviewers request, as long as it fits into the storyline somehow. Thank you to all of you for reading! The next chapter will be up soon.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! I know this update came a little bit later than my other ones have, but college does that to people sometimes. I'd like to give a shout-out again to everyone who reviewed Chapter Five! Thanks to MyHikari, ElsaFrozen, and .397 for their reviews! You three are great!**

**This chapter picks up a little bit after the last one left off, after the princesses have been given their punishment. There is not a ton of action in this chapter, but I promise that the action will soon return! Thanks for reading!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen or Tangled, and am merely using them for entertainment purposes.**

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Clara and Kath sat in their room several weeks later. Both princesses, who had been forbidden from leaving the castle gates for the next couple of months after their escapade on their last outing, were both getting to be extremely bored. The same four lavender painted walls were starting to get old. The night that the princesses had returned, their parents had given them a very long lecture, and the sisters were genuinely sorry for worrying the king and queen, as well as their guards.

Kath lay on her back on her bed, watching the pendulum of the grandfather clock that stood in the corner swing back and forth—almost falling asleep with the routine—while Clara sat on her own bed, quietly drawing on her sketchpad. The younger princess, who was being driven crazy from staying inside constantly, glanced over at her older sister.

"Clara, what are you drawing?" Kath asked, flipping herself around to look upside-down at her sister.

"A sunset…" Clara mumbled, biting her bottom lip in concentration. That one cloud just didn't want to look right. Maybe she made it too puffy, or there were too many swirls in it, or maybe salmon wasn't the right color for it, maybe a burnt orange would look better…the fourteen-year-old's frustration got the better of her and she looked toward the closed window. "Will you please get up and open the window so that I can see outside?" she asked her sister in a tone that barely concealed her inner frustration.

Kath flipped herself off the bed with surprising grace, and walked over to open the curtains that covered the window to reveal the setting sun. Clara murmured her thanks and began once again concentrating on her drawing as Kath plopped herself back down onto her bed in her usual position.

Several minutes later, they heard a knock on the door. "Come in," Clara called, lacking all enthusiasm that normally filled her voice at the prospect of a visitor in their room. The door opened, and in walked the king and queen of Corona.

Queen Isabelle, whose light brown hair was pulled back out of her bright green eyes in a coiled braid, pursed her lips as she looked at her daughters. Clara's hands were filled with color from the pastels she was using to create the drawing of a sunset. When the queen observed the skirt of her older daughter's dress, she saw orange and purple streaks across the light green skirt, where Clara had obviously wiped her messy fingers. Katherine's braid, which normally hung neatly over her left shoulder, was messy, and hairs were beginning to fall out of it and into Kath's face. Kath was making faces at the clock on the wall as she laid upside-down on her bed, her feet up in the air with her skirt falling down to reveal her legs as she wiggled her feet in the air.

King Edmund stared at both of his daughters, an eyebrow raised. He knew very well that Clara and Katherine were not girls who enjoyed sitting around doing nothing. His blue-green eyes flashed back and forth between the princesses, waiting for an explanation for their odd behavior, while he nervously awaited the less-than-thrilled reaction he knew his wife would have.

"Ahem," the queen said loudly. Both girls jumped, not realizing that their parents had entered the room. Clara dropped the pastel she had been using, and quickly stood up, almost tripping over her skirt and the comforter that were on her bed. Kath flipped off her own bed, falling on the floor before eventually standing back up to face her parents, tearing her skirt in the process.

King Edmund's eyes laughed, but his face was serious as he stared at his two daughters. They had inherited his own sense of grace, or rather, lack of grace. When he and Isabelle had first met, his clumsy personality had made her laugh, and still did when she was in the right mood, sixteen years later.

"What are you two doing?" his wife asked, distracting the king from his thoughts.

"Nothing," Kath answered in a matter-of-fact tone, squinting her eyes in innocence.

"You two both know—"

King Edmund gently placed a hand on Queen Isabelle's back, interrupting the beginning of her lecture. "My dear, I believe that our daughters are through with their punishment. They are not currently in need of another lecture," he said softly to his wife. Clara and Kath both smiled appreciatively at their father. "Giving you two a lecture was not the purpose for this visit in the first place," he added, gesturing for the princesses to sit back down. Clara moved to sit back down at her desk while Kath plopped back down on her bed.

After the princesses had both taken their seats, the queen began to speak. "Today, we received an invitation to a celebration ball that is to be held in Mormount the week after next. This ball is to celebrate the prince of Mormount's sixteenth birthday, and to begin to find a princess from a neighboring kingdom willing to marry him." Queen Isabelle paused to observe the reactions of her two daughters. Clara's face showed little emotion, other than a slight interest in what they were speaking of. Kath had a look of slight confusion on her face, and was waiting for her mother to continue.

"Though I am sure that both of you would represent our kingdom well, we have decided for only one of you to accompany us on this outing," the king continued for his wife.

Both girls' faces drooped at the king's words, and the sisters exchanged glances.

"Kath, we have decided that since you are the younger of you two, and you are obviously not yet very interested in marriage yet, you will be the one to stay here," the king added, looking Kath in the eye. Kath looked down, avoiding eye-contact with her father after he finished speaking.

"That's not fair!" Clara said, standing up. The king and queen both looked at their older daughter, a look of shock on their faces. Kath's head snapped up from her hands folded in her lap to stare at her sister with her mouth hanging open. Clara rarely spoke against her parents. King Edmund and Queen Isabelle waited for Clara to continue. "Kath is only a year younger than I am. She should be able to come too."

The king nodded and exchanged looks with his wife. "On the invitation, they requested that we bring only one of our daughters, and it seemed fitting that you would be the one that we bring, Clara."

"Katherine, how do you feel about not going to the ball?" the queen asked her daughter kindly.

Kath shrugged, but looked back down at her hands clenched in her lap. "I'm okay with it. Like Father said, I am younger, and I really am not all that interested in marriage right now. Clara should go."

"Kath!" Clara said, giving her sister a glare. She didn't want to go alone. She always pictured the two of them going to their first ball together. It wouldn't be right for Kath to stay home. Kath looked up and gave her sister a smile.

"Really, Clara. I think that it would be best if you went alone with Mother and Father. Maybe you'll meet your future husband at the ball," Kath told her, a glint of cheek in her blue-green eyes.

"But—"

"So that's final," the king interrupted. "Clara, in two weeks, you will come with us to Mormount, and Kath you will stay here for the night. I do not want to hear any more about this topic, and as Kath said, maybe for another ball you will get to stay home while Katherine accompanies us, Clara."

The queen nodded in agreement with her husband, before taking both of her daughter's hands and squeezing them. "Good night, girls."

When the door shut, Clara threw herself onto her bed. "I don't understand!" she wailed into her pillow.

Kath smiled at her older sister. "I'm glad that I don't have to go," she admitted. "I'm not ready for going to a ball yet. I still need to practice my curtsies."

Clara turned over to look at Kath. "You are so strange," she told her sister. Kath gave her a cheeky grin. "But I do wish you were coming with," she added, her tone showing her disappointment.

"You'll be fine, Clara," Kath assured her sister. "Don't worry about it."

* * *

Two weeks later, Clara found herself inside a carriage with her parents in a brand new peach colored dress that the seamstresses had made for her specifically for this occasion. She wasn't a fan of the color, but wasn't given any opportunity to state her opinion when the seamstress had shown her mother the design. The princess's hands were folded tightly in her lap, which hid the fact that they were shaking from nerves.

"Clara, you'll be fine. Don't worry," her mother said softly from across the carriage.

Clara made a face at her mother, who then laughed at her.

"Just make sure that you don't make that face in front of Prince Henrick," the king told his daughter. "He may just throw any prospects of marrying you out the window."

Clara laughed nervously, but then a thought crossed her mind. "Mother, Father, do you really want me to get married this young?" she questioned.

The king and queen were both silent before the queen decided to answer for them both. "Clara, dear, we just want for you to be happy, and for you to marry someone who will be good for both you—and for Corona. Whether or not Prince Henrick is that man, is up to you." She smiled at Clara. "And, dear, you have only just turned fourteen. I believe I speak for both of us when I say that we would like for you to stay ours for as long as possible before you are married."

The king laughed and took his wife's hand. "So what your mother means, Clara, is that you don't have to get married until you're forty. We would really just like for you to begin socializing with other royal people who are your age, other than your sister. Eventually, she will get to the age where we do the same thing with her."

Clara giggled, but her apprehension for meeting Prince Henrick disappeared with the knowledge that her parents were not intending on marrying her off to someone right away. She still felt she had a lot of adventures to get through with her sister before she was ready to marry anyone.

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**Author's Note: Dutiful Princess Clara is now on her way to her first ball, where she will have fun...maybe. You'll have to hear about her experience in the next chapter. Thank you to everyone for reading! I really appreciate seeing how many people have been reading this story, and I am excited to continue it. Thank you!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: I'm going to start this chapter off with an apology. Finals, moving, and a two-week long trip to Europe have kept me from updating this story as soon as I promised. But I do have good news! Spending two weeks travelling in France and the UK and Ireland have given me plenty of time to work on plot development. So this story has an even more solid direction, and I have more ambition to write now. So hopefully updates will now be a little bit more frequent.**

**This chapter takes place right after the last chapter. It is a shorter chapter, but the chapters after this one will be longer. I hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own Frozen or Tangled. As much as I can wish, I don't think that I will ever be the owner of those two incredible stories.**

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When Clara awoke the next morning, she found her beloved sister standing next to her bed, gazing down at her in excitement. While Clara was still groggy from her slumber, Kath was wide awake and ready to attain all possible information from the night before.

"So how'd it go?" Kath asked cheerily, resisting the urge to drag her sister out of her bed.

Clara groaned, rolling back over in her bed. The older princess and her parents had returned early that morning, and Clara had hoped she would be able to sleep in. However, she had not accounted for the fact that her sister was a morning person.

"Can I tell you about it later?" the green-eyed princess mumbled. Her eyes were still closed as she spoke, and Kath was not enthused.

"Okay," Kath said in a defeated tone. Clara happily pulled her blankets back up and had just fallen back asleep when Kath said: "It's later. Tell me." Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, the older princess picked up one of the spare pillows on her bed and hurled it at her younger sister. Kath yelped in surprise. After recovering from her shock, the blue-eyed princess picked the pillow back up, and lobbed herself onto her sister's bed, where she began to beat her older sister with the pillow.

"Ow! Katherine!" Clara yelled, sitting up and shoving her sister off the bed. The twelve-year-old fell to the floor with a scream. Kath should have seen it coming, as the event had happened often in the mornings since the sisters were young. Clara had never been a fan of Kath's attempts to wake her up in the morning.

"Hey! You asked for that!" Kath protested from her new place on the floor.

"Yeah, and you asked for this!" Clara said, taking another one of her pillows and throwing it in her sister's face. Within seconds, both princesses were on their feet, attacking each other with pillows. Feathers were flying everywhere as they two beat each other with the pillows, and they didn't stop until they heard someone at the door clear their throat.

The girls, who were still dressed in their dressing gowns with their hair undone, looked at the door. Their father stood in the doorway, an amused look on his face. "I see the princesses of Corona are up bright and early this morning," he commented. The sisters glanced at each other, then at their father again. He was still dressed in his night clothes, with a robe pulled on over the top of them.

"We are awake," Kath said awkwardly. Clara snickered.

"I was awoken by a scream, and your mother forced me to go make sure that neither of you had hurt the other," the king continued.

"You can rest assured that we have not yet injured each other," Clara told her father with an innocent smile.

"_Yet_," Kath muttered under her breath.

King Edmund ignored his younger daughter's sass with a simple shake of his head. "Will you two please find a way to entertain yourselves in a quieter fashion so that the rest of us in the castle can get some sleep?"

"Yes, Father," the sisters said together, giving him sweet smiles. Their father closed the door and walked back down the hallway to the chambers he shared with the queen.

"Spill," Kath said to her sister moments after their door closed again. She dropped the pillow that she had been holding in her hand, and plopped down on her own bed, staring at her sister.

Clara glared at her sister. "You're so sneaky," she said. "But…now that I'm up, I guess I can tell you," she continued dramatically, taking a seat on the bed she had just gotten out of so that she could explain the events of the night before in the comfort of her own warm bed.

"I only danced with Prince Henrick once," Clara began.

"What?" Kath said, shocked.

"He was much more interested in the girls that were his age," Clara said. "I'm only thirteen." She grinned. "It was actually really funny. I was really short compared to him. He was at least able to perfectly observe the other ladies in the room over my head."

"So that's it?" Kath asked, her eyes inquisitive.

Clara shrugged. "Well what do you want to know?"

Kath thought for a moment, trying to decide which of the millions of questions in her mind she wanted to ask. "Was there chocolate?"

The older princess laughed. "Of course!"

"I wish I could have gone!" Kath wailed dramatically.

"Shhh!" Clara scolded, realizing how loud her sister was talking. "Father told us to be quiet!" Clara paused before continuing. "And I don't think you would have enjoyed yourself very much, Kath. All of the other girls there were older than me. I was with Mother and Father for most of the night. Besides, you never wanted to go."

"Oh…" Kath replied, making a face. "I guess you're right."

Clara grimaced, remembering the night at hand. "And all of those older girls from other kingdoms…they were all so elegant, and graceful. They never tripped over their skirts or slouched." The princess fell into a daydream, thinking of the way the other princesses would glide across the floor, and use perfect speech when speaking to others. When she came to the realization that she and Kath were only years away from the same stage that those young ladies were at, she stared at her sister, her mouth agape. "We have a long way to go before we're ready for any sort of ball like that."

Kath listened to her sister, and nodded, attempting to understand what her sister was saying, as she stood back up. "So you mean that—"

"That we need to start behaving more like princesses, and less like girls who just want to have fun," Clara interrupted, knowing that her younger sister was about to go off on a ramble. The words spilled out of her mouth, and when she finished, she clapped her hands over her mouth, realizing how her tone seemed incredibly harsh and brash. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to come out like that."

Kath looked down at her hands. She knew that eventually she and her sister would have to grow up and start acting like princesses, like the girls that Clara was talking about—but it didn't seem like it was already that time for them. "So you think we should give up our plan for an adventure," Kath said quietly, her tone innocent.

"Maybe," Clara responded softly, her eyes softening at the child-like manner in which Kath spoke. She looked at Kath's back, wishing she could see her sister's face that now faced their window. "I'm sorry. It's just that…eventually we're both going to be queens, Kath. I'm sure Mother didn't act like we do when she was our age."

Kath continued to stare out the window. She didn't want to turn around and show her sister that her eyes had filled to the brim with tears. Her hands were clenched together in front of her. "So that plan we've been working on?"

"You could keep it. But Kath, we can't be riding around adventuring for the rest of our lives, can we?" Clara said, trying to not sound too harsh. As the older sister, she felt it was her responsibility to make sure that Kath stayed out of trouble and that both she and Kath became the young women that their parents dreamed they would become.

"Okay," Kath said quietly folding her arms across her chest. All at once, Kath suddenly felt much too crowded in their bedroom, with Clara staring at her back. She wanted to get as far away from Clara as possible—not because she was angry with her sister, but more of because deep down, Kath knew her sister was right. "I'm going to get dressed," she stated calmly, walking into the closet and closing the door behind her.

Clara closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She didn't want to destroy Kath's dreams of going on adventures, but she knew that it was time she and Kath grew out of their adventurous age. Besides—Clara had noticed plenty of boys at the ball, but she knew none of them would ever look at a girl who was constantly getting dirty and attempting to escape her home. It was time the princesses of Corona grew to be charming young women, ready to run a country.

Kath leaned against the door after it latched and glanced around the closet. Sitting on a shelf were her boots that she had stored her plan of adventure in. She knew Clara was right—it was time to grow up. Kath took her boot and took it to the back of the large walk-in closet and placed it in the pile of shoes that she rarely wore. She could forget about that plan now…or at least, she hoped that she could.

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**Author's Note: Yes, this ending is somewhat sad. But now we'll begin to see the princesses develop into the personalities that we see in the movies. Even though they are becoming much more like the queens they will become, their adventures are not over yet, so don't think that you're now in for a boring romantic story. There will be plenty of action upcoming in the story.**

**Thank you for reading! I really enjoy writing this story, and I hope that you are all enjoying it as well. If you want to, you can leave a review or subscribe to this story, but if you'd rather not, that's fine too! :) Thank you again!**

**Also, shout-out to the reviewers from Chapter 6! WizardDemonHunter and MyHikari! Thank you to both of you! I loved your reviews, and I apologize because I don't think that I replied to them. Normally I do reply, but again, the craziness of this last month have made me unable to do everything that I normally have time for. But thank you again for your reviews! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Hello all! Chapter Eight is finished! I've gotten some time to work, so hopefully chapters will start being posted sooner. Thank you to everyone who has been reading this story! It is very encouraging to see all of the hits that this story has gotten since I first started it, and I am very thankful for all of you. Shout-outs to both MyHikari and The Muffin of Rage for their reviews! I love getting to hear feedback!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen or Tangled, unfortunately. I would be eating something other than Ramen noodles for lunch if I did. Yay for being a poor college student!**

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"I think…I'll wear this dress!" Clara proclaimed as she pulled one of her dresses out of her closet to show her younger sister. The now fifteen-year-old Katherine glanced up from her book, rolling her eyes before returning her gaze to her book.

The younger princess of Corona had grown in the last couple of years. The young, awkward and outspoken young girl she had once been had disappeared, and in her place was a young woman of grace and intelligibility. Kath still wore her long hair in a braid, but instead of letting her stray hair fall in her face, she had it pinned back in an elegant crown braid to the side of her head. She had grown taller and was much more likely to engage in an intelligible conversation than to run dancing through the rain, like she would have several years ago.

Clara had changed as well. Her long brown hair had grown longer, and she pulled the front of her hair back out of her bright green eyes. Now sixteen years old, Clara had become a very beautiful princess, and was sought after by many men of surrounding kingdoms. She still enjoyed the presence of her sister, but just as Kath enjoyed spending hours wrapped up in a good book, Clara did too. Most of the princesses' free time was spent in their library, where they read books together, often discussing the material they were reading.

"You wore that one to the last ball we went to," Kath remarked dryly, without looking up from the book in her hands. Clara looked at the light pink dress and frowned.

"No one will notice," Clara responded quietly. The younger princess heard her, and though she had matured over the last several years, she couldn't hold back the sassy comment that popped into her head.

"I already did," Kath replied. She gave her sister a grin, and Clara rolled her eyes. She did enjoy the sass that passed between them.

"Well then, what are _you_ going to wear?" Clara questioned as she walked back into the closet they shared. Though their closet was full of bright colorful dresses that had been made for countless occasions, she and Kath still seemed to fight over certain dresses that stuck out.

For once, Kath was far more organized than her sister, and had made plans the day before for her attire for the night. "The burgundy dress with the silver lining," Kath responded. Clara poked her head back out of her closet when she heard her sister's reply, and stamped her foot dramatically.

"But I wanted to wear that one," she whined. When Kath looked at her, she saw that Clara was joking in her whine. The sisters laughed at each other, and Kath finally sat her book down on the end table by her bed, and stood up to walk to the closet with Clara.

"You can wear the green one there," Kath told her simply, wondering how something so easily decided could take her sister so long to figure out. Clara gave her a glare, and Kath gave her a cheeky grin. "It brings out the color in your eyes," Kath added. Clara tilted her head in thought, but eventually nodded in agreement.

"You never know! Maybe a handsome prince will finally notice you and ask to court you and then you'll get married all because you wore this dress!" Kath joked as she walked back out of the closet.

"They've already been noticing me, thanks!" Clara responded. Though Clara was admired by many men, she always felt slightly uncomfortable under the stares of the men from neighboring kingdoms—it was almost like they were hungry lions, and she their trapped prey. She had faith that eventually she would meet a man who would look at her as an equal. She didn't want to get married until she found a man who would treat her as his equal, but that idea was starting to seem more and more like an unreachable dream. "But maybe someone else will notice me tonight…"

* * *

Later that evening, Kath caught up to Clara at the dessert table in the kingdom of Nuvinde. The princesses were there with their parents, attending an annual ball that Nuvinde threw for the celebration of the middle of summer. People came from thousands of miles away to enjoy the delicious food, fun-filled dancing and flirting young royals.

"Clara, you've danced with almost every man in this room," Kath told her sister as she took a bite of a piece of chocolate. Her love of chocolate would never leave her.

"I have, and my feet are killing me," Clara replied, twiddling her toes in her tight shoes as they screamed with pain. She had her own piece of chocolate in her hand already, and was politely nibbling off of it. "And how many boys have _you_ danced with?" she questioned.

"A fair few…" Kath replied lightly, her eyes glancing around the room at the array of guests around the room. Though Kath was attractive enough, most men still preferred her older sister, though Kath honestly didn't mind. She found many men to be quite boring once she started talking to them. They were all so interested in politics and hunting and how much money their kingdom had. When would she find a prince who could actually hold a conversation with her about books or music or about life?

"Well, if you get bored, you can have a few of the ones that have been chasing me around if you want," Clara told her with a mischievous grin. Kath laughed, and quickly covered her mouth, realizing that her laugh had been a smidge too loud to be considered polite.

"No, thank you," she said after she regained control of herself. Before she could continue, a man with black hair and a beard with bright blue eyes walked up to Clara, his gaze focused on her. The princesses of Corona quickly straightened themselves, and stared at the newcomer. Neither of them had seen him before.

"Excuse me, Princess Clara, right?" he queried kindly with a small bow.

Clara nodded, a polite smile forming on her face.

"I am Prince Roland of Kentlin. I was wondering if you would be so kind as to allow me to have the next dance with you," the man said, his blue eyes glittering. The princesses were both in shock of how polite the prince was, and took a moment to recover from his courteous proposal.

After the moment of silence passed, Clara felt her face turn a deep red color. "Of course!" she answered, taking the hand that the prince offered, allowing him to lead her to the dance floor. Before Kath was out of sight, Clara turned around to give her a smile, and saw her sister was giving her a grin, a new piece of chocolate in her hand. The older princess decided she could smack her sister later, and looked up into Prince Roland's shining blue eyes.

"You look exquisite tonight," Prince Roland told her, distracting Clara from her thoughts of violence directed at her sister. "I couldn't help but notice you while you were dancing with some of the other men. You stick out from the other women here, you know."

"Why thank you," she responded properly. "I've danced with a lot of men tonight," she added before thinking about what she was saying.

Prince Roland laughed. "I don't blame them all for wanting to dance with you. You're stunning…" The prince seemed to trail off for a moment, but then cleared his throat, his face turning slightly pink. "Um, if I do say so myself," he added, attempting to regain his etiquette.

Clara blushed again, finding his slip a bit charming. "Thank you, Prince Roland." She suddenly realized how steady his hand was on her waist, and how easily the dance moves seemed to come to him. Many of the other men's hands shook as she danced with them, or their large feet stepped on her toes, or they spun her a bit too quickly and caused her to sometimes lose her balance. "You're a very good dancer," she added. "It's a relief to have someone who is so graceful for a change."

Prince Roland smiled down at her. "Thank you, Princess Clara. My older sister used to practice with me a lot," he informed her, his eyes filling with the joyous memories of his older sister bossing him around as one of their palace musicians had attempted to suit the teenage princess's requests. "And you can just call me Roland, by the way. I'm not one for constantly being called by my title. In fact, I rather detest it…"

Clara giggled. "Me neither. I'll call you Roland, but only if you call me Clara," she said.

"Deal," Roland told her, smiling broadly. They smiled into each other's eyes for a moment before Roland swiftly continued the conversation. "Your eyes are very green," he commented softly.

"My sister said the same thing earlier today," the princess responded, reminding herself to thank her sister for her fashion advice earlier that morning. "Well…something similar to that at least." She felt her face grow warmer. Clara was sure that her face would soon be reaching the color of Roland's bright red shirt if he continued to flatter her.

Roland laughed again, and Clara suddenly felt her stomach do a backflip; Roland's laugh sounded so natural, not forced like some of the other men's.

"You're different from the other men here," Clara told him softly. She felt comfortable with him. Here she had just met him, and already they were laughing together. Real laughter. None of the other princes, dukes, counts, or barons that she had danced with had even said more than around ten words to her. Roland was so easy to talk to compared to them.

"I've been told that before," Roland remarked. "But…normally they say it as an insult," he added with a wicked grin.

Clara held back a snicker, feeling the tips of her ears go red. "I did not intend for it to be an insult, Roland."

"Good," Roland said simply, giving her a pleased smile. The song ended, and the dancers began to retreat off the dance floor to find other activities or switch partners. "Would you mind allowing me to have another dance with you then?" he questioned, keeping his hand on her waist and a firm grip on her hand.

Clara agreed without a word of protest, and a broad smile appeared on her face as the next song began to be played, and Roland began to spin her around once more.

* * *

From a distance, Kath watched her sister. Clara seemed very happy—happier than what she did with most men she danced with. The younger princess of Corona jumped when she heard a voice behind her.

"Your sister seems to be enjoying that young man's company quite a bit…" Queen Isabelle of Corona mused to her younger daughter with a knowing smile on her face.

"She does," Kath told her mother, smiling back at the queen. "It's nice to see her having fun."

Queen Isabelle nodded. "Do you know who he is?" she inquired.

"He introduced himself as Prince Roland of Kentlin," Kath answered. Out of the corner of her eye, Kath noticed a young man approaching where she stood with her infamously strict mother. The young man noticed her mother and turned around rather quickly, making Kath giggle internally. "I need to stay around you more often, Mother."

"What do you mean?" the queen asked her daughter.

"No one wants to ask me to dance when I'm with you," Kath responded.

The queen raised an eyebrow.

"That's not a bad thing!" Kath said quickly. "They just see that I am having good, quality family time with my mother, and they wish not to interrupt."

The queen smiled. "It was the same way with my mother when I was your age," she commented. Queen Isabelle was not a dull woman—she had raised two quirky daughters, after all. She could normally see straight through her daughters' lies, or half-truths, as she preferred to call them. Rarely did her daughters actually _lie._

"And eventually you found Father," Kath told her mother.

"My parents found your father for me," the queen said dryly. Kath turned to stare at her mother.

"I didn't know you and Father had an arranged marriage…"

"Not many people realize that arranged marriages can grow into marriages built of love, Kath," Queen Isabelle told her daughter. "Your father and I learned to love each other during the short time after we met and before we were married. From the day we got married, we've had a lot of fun, and a lot of tough times, but we've stuck together through it all. I love him because he is my husband, and my best friend."

Kath didn't respond right away to her mother, letting the words of her mother sink in. Arranged marriages had always seemed so strange to her. She read about them in books, and she knew she never wanted to experience one. But she had never known that her parents' marriage had been arranged. Everyone knew that the King and Queen of Corona loved each other very much, and Kath had assumed that they had found each other on their own. Could such a marriage really be built out of luck with an arranged marriage, before the two even met each other?

"Mother," Kath said quietly, a perplexed look appearing on her face. "You're not considering an arranged marriage for Clara, are you?"

"Oh, no," Queen Isabelle said quickly. "She seems like she won't have any troubles finding a man to suit her needs. Look at how she's beaming while dancing with this Prince Roland."

Kath nodded. "She does seem happy." To herself, Kath said began to think about the stories her sister would have later that night.

"Isabelle?" Kath was jolted from her thoughts by her father's voice. She looked to see her father standing and grinning at her mother. "Would you do the honor of allowing me to have a dance with you?" he asked formally. The queen laughed but took her husband's hand regardless. Kath watched with a smile on her face as her parents left her and walked out to join the other couples on the dance floor.

In quiet reflection, the younger princess of Corona watched as bright colors twirled around the dance floor. She may have no one to dance with at the moment, but for now, the princess was content with watching the action, rather than participating in it herself.

* * *

**Author's Note: Thank you again to all of you who are reading this story! I really love you all! The next chapter will be posted soon, and I hope that all of you enjoyed this chapter!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: It's weird not having to apologize for not updating sooner since I've actually been updating on a regular basis. Anyways, hello! Here is the next installment of Clara and Kath's story. This chapter takes place directly after the previous chapter. Not a lot happens in this chapter, but I suppose that it is important to the storyline. I hope that you all enjoy! And thank you for reading! Shout-out to MyHikari for their review for Chapter Eight! Now enjoy Chapter Nine!**

**Disclaimer: All material that you recognize belongs to Disney, and not me.**

* * *

Clara glanced around the ballroom after her sixth dance with Roland, eyes scanning the decreasing number of people swaying to the orchestra's sweet, melodic music. Roland, noticing her perplexed look at the emptying room, decided to clear his throat to catch her attention, meeting her gaze evenly to help her overcome her confusion. "I think that our night is almost over," he whispered to her softly.

Clara nodded in agreement, refusing for a moment to meet his eyes. "I bet my family is wondering where I am." Finally, she shot her eyes up to Roland, and was caught by a sudden sadness in his sapphire eyes. Roland's grip on her waist tightened as the orchestra began to pack up their instruments, their duties done. "I don't want to leave," Clara confessed to him softly, attempting to ignore the pang in her heart that was telling her to not let go of Roland's hand.

Roland continued to stare at her, reading her feelings across her face. "This night has been incredible, Clara," he responded, then paused for almost too long. "I've never felt so drawn to someone like I have to you. I want you to know that you're a very special young woman."

The princess's face reddened, and she avoided his eyes once more. "Thank you," she stammered, making a smile cross his face. "Roland, I—uh," she paused awkwardly, choosing her words carefully. "I really enjoyed tonight. Will I get to see you again?"

Roland glanced down, and a smile appeared on his face once more. "I hope so," he replied.

Clara sighed, and avoided eye contact with Roland again. "Kentlin is a long way from Corona," Clara pointed out, remembering the maps she had studied. Kath always seemed to fall asleep during those lessons, and their instructor often got very frustrated with her. Clara smiled at the memory of Kath falling off of her chair in shock when the grumpy old man had slammed his hand on the table, startling the princess out of her sleep. The memory of reality brought the princess's smile back to a frown.

"I came all the way to Nuvinde. Corona is just a few hours ride from here," Roland replied, trying to sound as confident as possible. Clara didn't respond. "It's possible, Clara," he told her softly, still holding her close. "Just promise me that someday we'll meet again."

The princess of Corona looked up once more into Roland's blue eyes. While the prince of Kentlin was somber, his eyes still danced with excitement. Her stomach clenched as she forced a smile on to her own face.

"I promise," Clara whispered. Roland smiled, and pulled her into a hug. Clara buried her face in the prince's chest. After he held her for a few seconds, she looked up once more into his eyes, and her green eyes met his blue once more. Without either of them saying another word, Roland leaned down and kissed the princess of Corona on the lips. At first Clara pulled away out of shock, but then allowed herself to enjoy the sudden sign of affection, and she smiled.

When the two broke apart, Clara felt her eyes begin to fill with tears. She had never been kissed before, but she knew that there had been passion in the kiss she had just shared with Roland. All the sudden she felt herself wanting nothing more than to be with Roland for the rest of her life.

"Clara! Come!"

The princess visibly flinched when she heard her father calling her name. Had her family seen her exchange with Roland? She hoped not—what would they think?

Roland let go of the princess, passing her a sad smile. "I guess this is good-bye then," the prince of Kentlin said far too quietly for Clara's liking.

"Not good-bye," Clara pressed adamantly. "I promised you that we would see each other again, so it'll never be good-bye." She gave him a smile that she hoped revealed all of the feelings that she had for him before turning and forcing herself to return to her parents. She held back her tears for as long as possible, begging that her final words to him were true and showed him exactly how much she cared for him.

Roland watched the young woman walk away from him, sighing deeply and running a hand through his dark hair. Never before had he met a woman so interesting—Clara was everything that he ever wanted. She was smart, she was funny, she was gentle, she was quirky, and she was beautiful. He could stare into her expressive green eyes for the rest of his life, and never once become bored. He wanted—no, he _needed_ to see the princess of Corona again.

* * *

"You've been awfully quiet the last few days," Kath commented to her sister one morning as the princesses were strolling through the gardens. "Ever since we got back from the Summer Ball in Nuvinde, you haven't used more than five words in a sentence." Kath turned to her sister in concern. "Is something wrong?"

Kath knew that asking her older sister this question would be risky, but she really was concerned about Clara. Clara didn't normally talk very much, but she was talking even less than normal. The younger princess suspected that her sister's hesitance to speak was due to the young man that she had spent most of the Nuvinde ball with.

"No. I'm fine," Clara responded simply. Kath glanced sideways at her sister with her eyebrows raised.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Clara replied, her green eyes giving her younger sister a dull glare.

"Positive?"

"Katherine!" Clara said shortly. Her tone commanded that Kath drop the subject. Kath, who for a moment almost reverted to her younger self, who would have instantaneously gotten into an argument with her sister, chose to ignore the tone in her sister's voice.

"Does it have to do with the prince you were dancing with? What was his name? Roger?" she pressed.

"Roland," Clara corrected sternly. Kath grinned, knowing she was getting through to her sister finally. "And where was he from?"

"Kentlin," Clara responded. She once again glared at her older sister. "Will you please drop the subject, Kath?"

Kath shook her head stubbornly. "Kentlin's pretty far away. You won't see him again…at least not for a long time," she began. Kath realized that she had found the reason for Clara's quietness when the older princess began to walk faster. Kath quickened her own pace to keep up with her sister, only to discover that Clara's eyes had filled with tears.

Gently, the younger princess grabbed her sister's hand. "You really like him, don't you?" she said softly. Clara nodded, but refused to look Kath in the eye.

"He won't be anywhere near Corona again for a long time. Kentlin is so far away…" Clara whispered. "I just wish I could see him again."

"Well," Kath began, hoping that once she started talking she could think of an idea that would bring comfort to her sister. "Maybe…" An idea struck her. "Maybe you could write him a letter. You could send it to Kentlin, and I'm sure that it would eventually get to him. I mean, there can't be more than one Prince Roland of Kentlin, right?"

A small smile appeared on Clara's face. "I've thought of that," she admitted. "But I don't know what I would say. I really like him, Kath. I really, really like him."

"I think you're in love," Kath told her sister. Her blue eyes were lit up with excitement.

Clara shook her head. "And what do you know about love, Kath?"

Kath shrugged. "Well…I've read quite a bit about it," she said happily. "So I'd say that I know a fair amount about it."

"Well maybe I am in love. But there's so much distance between him and me," Clara argued. "It may never work out."

"But distance can change. You can write to each other. You can plan visits," Kath replied. "Love can overcome anything, Clara."

Clara smiled and looked at her sister. "You're such a romantic, Kath," she told the younger princess.

"No. I just read, and I know a lot about people," Kath told her. "And from what I saw, your last moments with Roland were pretty life-changing…"

Clara's jaw dropped, her eyes widening. "You saw…"

Kath grinned, knowing that she had finally struck gold. "Just write to him. Tell him that you miss him and you want to see him again. Tell him something about you that he may not know, like that your younger sister is a complete genius. Tell him that you want to know more about him. Maybe he has a handsome younger brother!"

"I don't know…" Clara said, turning away and rolling her eyes as she began walking down the path once more, not humored by her sister's attempt to lighten the situation.

"It's worth a try!" Kath urged her, catching up to her sister in seconds. "Please?"

Clara raised an eyebrow. "What gives you any right to be meddling in my love life?" she asked.

"I'm you're sister. That's what I'm here for!" Kath responded happily. After giving her sister a quick hug (that was not returned by Clara), the younger princess took off down the path toward her favorite place, next to a fountain. "I'll be reading over here if you need me!" she called over her shoulder.

Clara shook her head, but turned around to begin walking back toward the castle. Maybe Kath was right, and she should reach out to Roland. And it wasn't like she would never see him again, right? He could come to another ball soon, as they had promised. Maybe she could ask her parents to invite him to the ball that Corona held in the spring for she and Kath's birthdays that were only a month apart. Somehow, she had to see Roland again.

But for now, she could start by just writing to him, and maybe their relationship could grow from there…

* * *

**Author's Note: Poor Clara. She is heartbroken. See in the next chapter what all is in store for her future! Thanks again to everyone for reading! You are all wonderful! Thank you!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: Hello all of you wonderful readers! I'm really excited to be posting Chapter Ten! I think that this story is officially the longest one that I have on , so thank you to all of you for sticking with this story and inspiring me to keep writing this story. Believe me, my plans are for this story to be quite long, so there is plenty more to come. Anyways, I hope that everyone enjoyed the last chapter, and that they enjoy this chapter as well. There's a little bit of fluff and a little bit of drama in this chapter, so buckle your seatbelts! The next few chapters are going to be pretty crazy! I hope you enjoy!**

**Shout-outs to both GLORIA-V-A and MyHikari for your reviews! I enjoyed them both!**

**Disclaimer: I still do not own Disney. Maybe someday. Just kidding. I have no plans to take over Disney whatsoever.**

**12/31/2014 Update: This chapter is the last of ones that were posted pre-Beta Reader, but all ten of these chapters have now been updated, and should be much more reader friendly now! My amazing Beta, RandomButLoved, is incredible, and very talented at helping me to add to my stories to make them much more exciting and realistic. From here on out, I will be posting chapters AFTER they have been beta-ed, but because RandomButLoved is so awesome, that really will not create much of a delay in them being posted. So, huge shout-out to RandomButLoved for the work they have done with this story. I am so thankful for them. **

* * *

"Clara! Clara!" The now sixteen-year-old Princess Katherine ran screaming down the hallway of the castle in Corona. Servants stopped to stare at the normally quiet princess as her long braid bounced behind her on her back. "Clara!" she yelled again.

The princess almost slid past the door of their bedroom before she caught herself on the door frame to look inside of the room. "Clara? Where are you?" she asked as she realized that the room was empty. Turning, the princess practically ran into her seventeen-year-old sister as she stalked down the hallway. "Clara!"

"What are you doing?" Clara asked her sister, a slightly amused expression on her face as her sister slid to a halt and doubled over, trying to catch her breath.

After a moment, Kath stood up straight and made a face at her sister. "I was trying to find you. But I guess you found me instead."

Clara's green eyes laughed—something they hadn't done for almost a year now.

"You already know!" Kath realized, recognizing a genuine happiness in her sister's face.

"They just told me," Clara responded calmly; however, her dancing green eyes gave away her internal excitement.

"But I wanted to tell you!" Kath argued, stomping into their bedroom. The servants who stood near the door shook their heads and continued their work as Clara followed her sister into the room, apologizing for her sister's behavior.

Earlier that morning, Kath had been called into her father's office so that he could ask her who she would like to be invited to the birthday ball that was being held a few weeks later for the birthdays of Kath and Clara. During the previous years, the guest list for the birthday ball was decided by the king and queen alone, without the input of their daughters. The king and queen had recently decided that now that their daughters were beginning to take more interest in the other guests at the balls that the princesses should be able to have a say in the guest list.

"So you told them about Roland?" Kath questioned once the two were both in their room with the door shut.

"Kath, they've known about Roland, they just haven't really let me know that they knew," Clara informed her sister. Sure, the two had discussed the prince of Kentlin with each other with their bedroom door closed, but his name had never been directly mentioned in front of their parents. But the king and queen were smart, and knew how to find out the secrets of their daughters. "They told me when I was just in Father's office."

Kath wrinkled her nose. "Oh," she said. "I guess that it probably wouldn't have been too hard to find out."

Clara laughed. "They only would have had to ask any of the palace servants where my letters are sent to."

Kath grinned. "Your weekly letters to him. They've probably known since the Nuvinde ball."

"They always know everything," Clara muttered. "They're parents." Kath laughed at her jest, and Clara suddenly felt her excitement bubbling over the edge. "But I get to see him again! After all this time of us just writing to each other! I feel like I've known him my whole life now!" Clara said, laying down on her bed to stare at the ceiling. In the months since she and Roland had begun to write to each other, they had discussed multiple things, including their kingdoms, families, and plans for the future.

"Now who's the romantic?" Kath teased. Clara's response was a pillow chucked across the room into her younger sister's face, a guilty grin on her face.

* * *

Kath grabbed her sister's arm just before they entered the ballroom. Clara yelped and whirled around to face her sister. "What, Kath?" she asked rather impatiently. Kath said nothing for a few moments, and instead found herself staring at a strand of hair that had fallen out of Clara's intricate hairstyle, and was still unnoticed by the green-eyed princess.

"Your hair is out of place," Kath told her sister with a grin just before her sister turned around to march into the ballroom. Clara stood still for a moment to allow her sister to fix it, and grinned once Kath gave her an affectionate pat on the cheek once she was done.

"This is it," she said softly to her younger sister, giving her a shy smile.

Kath grinned at her. "I know," she replied. "How are you feeling?"

"What if—"

"It'll be fine," Kath interrupted before Clara could get her "what-if" out. "I'm sure that Roland is just as excited to see you as you are to see him." She squeezed her sister's hand. "Now get out there and go find him."

Clara turned back around, an effortless grin on her face. As a servant opened the door for them, the herald called the attention of the guests to the top of the staircase where the two princesses now stood. Together, the princesses curtsied to the room, as the herald announced their presence.

"Princesses Clara and Katherine of Corona," he declared to the hall. The sisters stood back up, and proceeded to descend the staircase.

As Clara walked down the stairs, she smiled sweetly at the guests around the room, until she found the one man that she had been looking for. Though he was surrounded by other women who had undoubtedly surrounded him when he entered—thanks to his handsome features—his eyes were only on her. Once Clara found him, her elegant, sweet smile turned to a grin of excitement. Silently, she cursed the slow, elegant pace that Kath kept them at as they descended the staircase. She would much rather pick up her skirt and take off at a sprint down the staircase to see the man she had so effortlessly fallen in love with. Why must they go through all these formalities?

Kath observed the crowd as her sister did the same, and eventually found Roland standing in the crowd, staring at her older sister, a look of awe on his face. She smiled, and looked back toward their parents, who sat on their thrones at the far end of the room.

Clara continued to stare at Roland, even after they passed where he stood on the floor on their way to the thrones, until Kath nonchalantly shoved her elbow into her sister's stomach to remind the older princess to look toward their parents.

Eventually the princesses made it to the feet of their parents, and both curtsied. The king and queen gave them a nod, and the king stood to welcome the guests to the ball. Clara only partially listened to her father's speech—the other half of her brain was focused on Roland's blue eyes that she stared at across the crowd.

When the dancing resumed, Clara made her way over to Roland without hesitation. He smiled broadly at her when she approached him, which caused the princess's stomach to suddenly feel like it was full of thousands of butterflies. The other young women that had stood around him wrinkled their noses and walked away when they saw Roland turn away from them. "Hello," Clara told him when she stood close enough to him for him to hear her.

Roland bowed to the princess. "You look lovely tonight. I believe that you have even grown more beautiful since the last time that I saw you," he responded. Standing up, he took her hand, and began to lead her to the dance floor. Clara smiled at the feeling of her hand in his once more, and let a small giggle escape her.

"You look very handsome yourself, Roland," Clara commented. She glanced around the dance floor. "I'm really glad that you came…I was a little bit worried, I'll admit."

Roland grinned. "When I got the invitation, I couldn't reject it. I've loved getting your letters all year, Clara. My older sister has been teasing me about them non-stop."

"Hilary, right?" Clara asked, remembering Roland mentioning her in his letters.

Roland nodded simply. "Yes. The future queen of Kentlin…she's a character."

Clara laughed. "So I've heard. She's really planning on opening an art school in Kentlin?"

Roland grinned. "Yes. She loves drawing. And she really wishes that children in our kingdom would have a place to go, especially the ones who spend all day in town just out on the streets. We've had troubles with them getting into mischief, so she thinks that having an art school would be a good way to keep them out of trouble, as well as teach them some valuable skills."

The princess stared at the man, in slight awe, wondering how much she would someday be able to do as the queen of Corona. "That's incredible. She'll make a great queen someday. I hope that I can do something like that when I become queen," she stated.

"I'm sure you will. You have plenty of dreams, don't you?" Roland responded.

Clara's eyes narrowed in a sudden slight panic. She had dreams, didn't she? "Um…" she began, but then stopped herself. Roland raised his eyebrows in anticipation. "I…" Why couldn't she think of any of her dreams?

"Clara?" Roland asked, his eyes suddenly showing great concern.

The princess's brow furrowed in confusion. "I don't know if I have any dreams…" she finally admitted. "I haven't really ever thought about them. I guess that I've always just thought that I would become queen, and that would be it."

Roland tightened his grip on her waist, his thumb caressing her back lovingly in a gesture of comfort. "You will eventually be queen, you're right with that. But you can do more than just be a queen. You can be a gentle, loving, generous, and caring queen. And to do that, you need to take into account the lives of all of your people."

Clara thought about what Roland said as the music picked up, and they began to dance to a much more upbeat song. She glanced around the ballroom, seeing many royals from other kingdoms dancing along with some of the people from Corona. The people from Corona were so bright and happy—it reminded her of the sun. She always had an interest in the sun: when it was rising, when it was setting, when it made her skin turn a bright shade of pink when she stayed outside for too long. She loved that the sun always seemed to be shining, even if it was raining at the same time. And to the princess, the sun was a symbol of happiness. She wanted her kingdom to radiate that everlasting joy.

"You gave me an idea," Clara told Roland, giving him a grin as he pulled her in close to him.

Roland raised his eyebrow at her, waiting for her to continue as they danced.

"My dream is to be queen of a kingdom that is always full of joy," she told him with a radiant smile. "And I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that my people are happy."

The prince of Kentlin nodded, a grin of approval on his face. "You'll make an excellent queen, Clara." He spun her around, and all words were lost in the world of dance itself. Their laughter was infectious, and all of their time spent apart suddenly seemed like nothing. Time was lost to them, reality was lost to them, and all that existed to them was the other; nothing more, nothing less. Their love was all that they needed in this moment.

* * *

Kath sighed as she watched Clara laugh as Roland twirled her around on the dance floor. Although she would never admit it, the younger princess was becoming rather jealous of her sister's suitor. Prince Roland seemed like a very nice young man, and finding her own man like Roland seemed impossible to the blue-eyed princess.

A finger tapping on her shoulder made Kath jump in surprise. She turned around to see a young man with flaming red hair and bright green eyes staring at her, a charming smile on his face. The princess smiled in return. "Princess Katherine?" he asked. The princess curtsied deeply in response. "I am Prince Vincent of the Southern Isles. Would you mind if I had this dance?"

The princess felt her face redden as he smiled at her. Taking his hand, she smiled, and accepted his invitation to dance.

"You seem quiet, Princess Katherine…" Prince Vincent remarked as they danced. Kath's face grew a shade redder when she realized that she hadn't actually said anything to the prince. She shrugged. "I don't talk very much," she admitted simply, which was rather truthful since she had lost touch with her past, boisterous self. "At least not until I get to know someone."

Prince Vincent nodded in understanding. "That's okay," he said kindly. "I know the feeling. I have ten younger brothers—I can barely get a word in when I'm at home."

"Really?" Kath asked, shocked at how many siblings could be in one castle. "You have ten younger brothers? You're the oldest?"

Prince Vincent nodded, spinning her a little and making Kath's stomach flip at the speed of the spin; not that she minded, of course. "I'm eventually going to be the one who inherits the throne. But yes, ten. It's crazy."

Kath nodded. "I'm sure!" she expressed with fascination. "Sometimes life around here gets pretty crazy too, and it's just Clara and me who live here. We drive my parents crazy."

The prince raised a brow at her, a grin forming on his face. "So you're not the two perfect princesses that the rest of the world seems to think you are?"

Tilting her head slightly, Kath scoffed, a grin appearing on her own face. "Of course not! We are far from perfect. Or well, at least I am. Clara is probably the perfect princess that everyone thinks she is. But I'm certainly not."

The music changed, and a slower song changed the pace of their steps as they danced.

"I don't mind that you're not perfect," Prince Vincent told Kath almost too innocently, as he pulled her closer. "Perfect girls aren't any fun." Kath grinned and continued to talk with the prince as he spun her around. Her mind began to blur wildly, and she began to forget all about the party, her sister, and even her sister's new love interest, Roland. All she was concerned about what Prince Vincent's dreamy green eyes, and the feeling of his hand on her waist, and her own hand placed gracefully in his. A thought suddenly jumped into her mind, and she grinned at it. _He's perfect…_

* * *

**Author's Note: I figured that since Hans is probably one or two years older than Anna, his oldest brother may be around the age of Kath and Clara, and thus, Vincent was created. Will Vincent be the perfect prince that Kath thinks he is, or will he cause trouble? Find out in the next few chapters! Thank you again for reading! I love you all!**

**12/31/2014 Update: Chapter Eleven will be posted soon! Be ready for it! :) Thank you!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! It's been a while, hasn't it? I promise it's for good reason! For the last several months, I have been working with my new amazing Beta Reader, RandomButLoved, and we have been revising every chapter of this story. Yesterday I replaced all ten of the first chapters with their new and improved versions, and I am super excited about it! RandomButLoved is absolutely amazing, and I have loved working with them so much! I hope that you all are able to enjoy this story a little bit more now because of the help that they have given me.**

**As a side note, I am sorry that it took me so long to put up an update. I swear, life just keeps getting crazier and crazier by the second. I am glad that I have gotten to do a little bit more with this story though over the holidays.**

**Anyways, enough talking from me. Here's the eleventh chapter! Enjoy! :)**

**Disclaimer: Yeah, I still don't own Disney. Sorry.**

* * *

"And I finished another one!" Kath proudly announced to her sister one afternoon a few weeks later. Clara looked up from her painting, perplexed by her sister's sudden outburst. For days she had been working on perfecting a painting of a young man and woman dancing amidst a crowd of people. Kath had teased her that the young couple looked a lot like Clara and her newfound beau, but despite the older princess's denials, the blush on her face had told her sister that Clara was constantly thinking of her time spent with Roland.

"Finished what?" Clara questioned after a brief pause.

"My book," Kath said, her eyes narrowing. "Remember? I said I was going to try and read twenty books before Christmas. This book was my eighth. I still have twelve more to go in seven weeks."

Clara playfully rolled her eyes, looking back down at her painting. Kath had been obsessed over reading lately, far more than usual. "Pretty soon, there's not going to be a book in our library that you haven't read."

Kath giggled, but jumped off the seat by the window and walked to the door before responding. "I'm going to go to the library to find another one. Care to join me?"

"No, thank you," Clara said, turning back to her painting and falling into a bit of a day-dream over it. In a way, she almost wanted to leap into the painting, and relive that night all over again with Roland. Soft music playing, colorful dresses swishing around the dance floor, laughter from various couples trickling across over the music, as if it was written to be a part of the music itself. She imagined Roland's piercing blue eyes, and the feeling of their hands touching, and that kiss that they had shared…

"I thought about stopping in the kitchen to get some chocolate on my way there," Kath added, grinning at her sister's back, oblivious to the day-dream she had just interrupted.

Clara's hand stopped mid-stroke, and she turned around to face her sister. "I saw them making chocolate éclairs yesterday," she stated seriously.

Kath raised her eyebrows and smiled. "So…"

"Coming!" Clara suddenly exclaimed, pushing herself out the door in front of her sister. They laughed together as they took off down the hallway. When the sisters passed their father's office, however, they both slid to a stop. They heard a full laugh coming from the inside, and Clara reached down and grabbed Kath's hand.

"That's Roland's laugh!" she exclaimed in a tight whisper.

Kath's eyebrows knit together, and both sisters pressed their ears up against the door.

"We shouldn't be doing this," Clara mouthed to her sister.

"You're the one who stopped!" Kath mouthed back.

"Sir, I can't tell you enough about how incredible your daughter is," they heard Roland say from the inside. Kath grinned at Clara as she blushed.

"It's nice to hear that coming from a respectable man like you, Prince Roland," their father replied simply. "Is there a specific reason that you came all the way back to Corona from Kentlin, or was it just to tell me that my daughter is just as beautiful and amazing as I've always known she is?" There was a hint of amusement in their father's voice, which made his eavesdropping daughters smile sweetly.

Roland cleared his throat. "Well, Your Majesty…" the prince paused again for a long time, and Clara's heart clenched in anticipation. "I was wondering if you would give your blessing to me when I asked your daughter to um…when I asked her to marry me."

Clara let out a small squeak, and Kath quickly covered her sister's mouth with her hand so that they could hear the rest of the conversation. Clara began to violently shake her head until her younger sister let go of her.

"We should go!" Clara hissed, grabbing Kath's hand. She began to drag her sister down the hallway, despite Kath's silent protests.

When the sisters made it to an empty hallway far enough away from their father's office, Clara turned around to grin at Kath. "I can't believe this is happening!" she squealed, bouncing up and down. "I only just turned seventeen, but that's old enough to get married, right? I mean, Mother was only sixteen when she got married."

Kath smiled as Clara bounced around in circles. "I'm so excited for you, Clara!" she exclaimed, taking her sister's hands. "When do you think he'll actually ask you?"

The older princess paused her bouncing, drifting off into thought for a moment. "I…don't know. I haven't thought of that yet," she replied honestly, a thoughtful look on her face. She thought for a moment, then her face paled. "What if Father didn't give him his blessing?"

Kath scoffed, rolling her eyes at her sister's negativity. "Out of all the princes in the surrounding kingdoms who could ask for your hand in marriage, Clara, Roland would be the one that I would choose. Both Mother and Father know that you are head-over-heels in love with that man! And I bet you that Mother was in that room too during that conversation!"

Again, Clara smiled. "They do always seem to do what's best for us, don't they?"

"Of course!" the blue-eyed princess said, waving her hand as if it was more than obvious. "They're our parents. Parents always do what they think is best for their children."

Clara's face paled again. "I'm going to have to have children soon!" she shrieked, a million thoughts suddenly clouding her mind as she thought of all the added responsibilities of marriage.

"Shhhhh!" Kath reminded her, taking her hand and leading her toward the kitchen. "Let's go to the kitchen and the library, then we can go back to our room and talk more about this!"

* * *

Later that night, the princesses heard a knock on their bedroom door. Kath got up to answer the door. "Hello, Mother," she said, seeing that the queen stood on the other side of the door. The queen smiled and nodded in acceptance, following her daughter back into the bedroom.

"Mother!" Clara exclaimed, jumping at the sight of the queen. Behind Queen Isabelle, Kath rolled her eyes. Clara had been so jumpy all day.

"Clara? Are you all right?" the queen questioned, approaching her daughter. Before she made it all the way to the crown princess's side, she noticed the painting that was sitting on the easel that Clara sat next to. "Clara! This painting is incredible!" she complimented, staring at the painting. She grinned. "It bears a striking resemblance to you and the prince of Kentlin, does it not?"

Clara blushed, knowing the redness of her face would be a good enough answer for her mother. Queen Isabelle turned to look at her younger daughter, who was grinning.

"Oh, look at you two," the queen said softly. She turned so that she could face both of her daughters. "You're both growing into the most beautiful young women." The sisters exchanged smiles. "Soon you'll both be grown up. I remember when I was your age. That was around the time that I learned of my arranged marriage to your father. You know…I only knew him for around a month before he and I got married."

"Really?" Kath asked in fascination, taking a seat on her bed.

"Yes. I was not happy with my parents when they arranged the marriage, but it was my duty as princess to follow the orders of my parents," the queen responded, leaving a pregnant pause behind before picking up again. "But I want you two to do something that I was never able to." She pursed her lips. "I want both of you to marry for love."

Clara and Kath exchanged looks once again. "Why do you say that, Mother?" Clara asked. Her voice was soft.

"Because even though I learned to love your father, it took time," she clarified. "I want you two to have the joy of falling in love, and wanting to spend the rest of your life with that someone, because there's no greater joy in life than knowing that you love someone with all your heart, and that you will spend the rest of your life with them," the queen told them. She stood up, and moved toward the door. She turned before she exited the bedroom. "I love you both very much. You know that, don't you?"

"We love you too!" the princesses chorused together.

"That was weird," Kath added when their mother had left the room and shut the door behind her.

"Yeah it was," Clara replied. "I bet you that it has to do with what we overheard today though! Do you think Mother was thinking of Roland when she said that to us? Do you think she knows that I love him?"

Kath smiled, and waved her hand at the picture that Clara had spent days painting. She studied the painting for a moment, and thought of the few dances she had shared with Prince Vincent, before shaking herself from the happy memory. "I think she knows."

* * *

**Author's Note: Yay! Clara's life is about to get very exciting! Stay tuned for the next chapter where we'll learn a little bit more about what Prince Roland has up his sleeve. And as always, thank you so much for reading! I really appreciate knowing that there are people out there enjoying this story! I'd like to give a shout-out to my reviewers who reviewed Chapter Ten waaaaay back when I posted it: MyHikari and FrozenLuver12. Thank you to both of you! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: Yay! I get to update within a week of posting the last chapter! That's like almost a first-time event! I'm really excited! I hope all of you enjoyed the last chapter! This one was a lot of fun to write, and RandomButLoved was a huge help when they Beta-ed it for me! I hope that you find this chapter at least entertaining. :)**

**Shout-Out to MyHikari for their review for Chapter Eleven! To reply to your review, YES! Clara is in for some big changes! ;) Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: No, I do not own Disney.**

* * *

"Clara? You okay?" Kath asked her sister quietly as she noticed that tears were streaming down the older princess's face. Clara was sitting at her vanity, preparing herself for the ball that was to be held that night in Corona to celebrate Christmas, but the princess seemed to be more focused on the tears falling down on her face than actually applying the color to her cheeks. Kath stepped closer to her sister, ready to comfort her.

The crown princess was dressed in an emerald ball gown that had been made specifically for the Christmastime ball. Red and silver embroideries decorated her bodice, and Clara's face had glowed when she put the gown on.

When Clara turned to face her younger sister, Kath took a seat on a chair sitting next to the vanity. "I don't understand…" Clara whispered, allowing tears to start falling freely from her face as she clasped her hands in her lap. Kath raised her eyebrows. "It's been months since we overheard Roland speaking with Mother and Father in Father's office. I've been writing to Roland, but he's only sent me two replies, and they were incredibly short. We haven't even seen each other officially since the spring ball." Kath took her sister's hand, already knowing what her sister was about to say. "Maybe Father did reject his offer…"

"I'm sure he didn't, Clara," Kath assured her sister. "You know that Mother and Father both adore Roland. I'm sure that they wouldn't have rejected him. Maybe there's just something that neither of us know yet," Kath told her sister. In truth, she had noticed the lack of communication between Clara and Roland without Clara even saying anything. Clara had been quieter than her usual, and had refused to speak if Kath so much as mentioned Roland's name.

"I hate not knowing," Clara huffed softly, wiping her eyes with a handkerchief. "I haven't even heard if he'll be at the ball tonight." She paused, and hundreds of thoughts went through her mind. "Then again, if Father told him that he couldn't marry me, why would he come to our ball?"

Kath squeezed Clara's hand. "Just try to not worry about it. Let's just have fun tonight. We can eat enough chocolate to last us for an entire year."

The older princess smiled, but her heart wasn't in it. "Okay."

"Let me help you with your hair," Kath said, quickly diverting the subject. She stood up and began to mess with her sister's hair, ignoring the occasional yelps from Clara when the younger princess accidentally tugged too hard on a few pieces. Both princess's minds were racing with millions of thoughts about the night and the people in their lives.

* * *

Several hours later, both princesses were laughing together at the snack table during the middle of the ball. Kath had accidentally shoved too many pieces of chocolate in her mouth, right before being asked to dance by a young man from the Western Islands. When she refused with a mouthful of chocolate, the young man's face resembled that of someone who had just seen a flying horse. As he walked away, the sisters had burst into a fit of giggles.

"I think I do that at every Christmas ball!" Kath said, once she swallowed.

"At least you haven't ever choked on any chocolate," Clara giggled, wiping away tears of laughter. "Remember the time that—what was her name?—Princess Amelia choked on a bit of cheese, and almost passed out?"

"One of the cooks had to come out and squeeze her around her stomach! The cheese flew out and hit that poor Duke of Weasel-Town right on the forehead!" Kath finished for her. The sisters began giggling again, until they were once again interrupted by a young man. "Prince Vincent!" Kath exclaimed, her face growing bright red. He had approached the sisters quietly, and the two hadn't noticed until he had overheard part of their conversation.

"Princess Katherine," he greeted simply, bowing. "It is wonderful to see you again," he continued as he kissed her hand. "I was wondering if you would be up for a dance with me."

Kath glanced at Clara, who gave her a simple nod. So far, Kath had refused any dance that had been offered to her by young men, wishing to stay by her sister's side in case she needed something. However, Clara had also heard her younger sister talk a million miles an hour about how perfect Prince Vincent was during the last several weeks since her sister had met the oldest prince of the Southern Isles. "I'd love to dance with you, Prince Vincent," she accepted with a smile. He took her hand and led her on to the dance floor for a waltz.

"I haven't seen you for a few months. How have you been?" Kath asked as they began to dance.

"I've been good. You know, my parents had another son. So now I have eleven younger brothers. Nothing like adding more craziness to my family," Vincent responded.

"Wow!" Kath expressed, happy for him, though also slightly awe-struck by the news. "That has got to be crazy. Do you all share a room? Clara and I share a bedroom, and sometimes she drives me nuts. But I guess that our room is big enough that if I want to be alone, I can just stick to my half of the room."

Vincent laughed. "Oh, no. I just share a room with my second oldest younger brother—" he paused to think about what he had said, and Kath giggled—"Yeah, I think that's how I should have said that. But his name is Alfred, and he's sort of loud. But I suppose that the same thing goes for me; if I'm tired of him, I can just stay on my half of the room and he'll leave me alone."

Kath smiled as she listened to Vincent talk about his brothers. "I'm sure glad that it's just Clara and me here in Corona," she stated when Vincent paused. For a moment, her thoughts wandered to her sister, who Kath knew was feeling very lonely.

"Yeah, you seem to be two lucky princesses," Vincent replied, startling Kath out of her brief day-dream. "Speaking of which, your sister is seventeen now, isn't she? Is she looking for a suitor? I'm sure that plenty of my younger brothers would be interested in her. Alfred is just a year older than her."

The princess looked away, trying to think of how she wanted to answer that question. Before she could reply, her jaw dropped as she saw a figure enter from across the ballroom. "Hold on a second!" she said to Prince Vincent, before leaving him in the middle of the dance floor, rushing to find her sister.

* * *

Clara continued to munch on a few sweets from the snack table after Kath left to go dance with Prince Vincent. She couldn't help but think of how much she wished that Roland was there for her to dance with. He was so graceful, and they were the perfect dance partners. Most of the other young men she had danced with thought dancing was silly, and only did it because it was the proper thing to do. Roland had actually told her on one occasion that he loved dancing, and he thought that it was the perfect way for two people to find out if they really were suited to each other. That had been the same night that Clara decided she was in love with Roland.

Clara's thoughts were interrupted by a body crashing into her, and as she attempted to recover from almost falling over, the princess realized that she had been staring into space. Turning to see who had crashed into her, she found her sister standing with her hands on her hips, her face slightly red. "Katherine!" Clara scolded, assuming a position almost identical to her sister's.

"Sorry! You wouldn't answer me when I was trying to say your name, then I sort of just tripped over my skirt and happened to crash into you in the process," the younger princess of Corona spluttered. "But that's not important!" She grabbed on to her sister's shoulders and pointed her toward the door. "Look!"

Seeing what her sister was talking about, Clara's jaw dropped. "That's—oh!" she said, not able to use words as her heart began to flutter. Her hand found its way to her mouth, and she covered her open mouth as she watched the figure make his way to the dais on which the king and queen sat. She watched in silent awe as the man spoke with her parents. Both of her parents' faces had seemed delighted to see the man, and after a few moments of quiet discussion, the king stood up, and called the attention of everyone in the ballroom.

"Excuse me! Can I have everyone's attention, please?" the king called. The room quieted, and everyone gave their attention to the king of Corona. "Thank you. This young man would like to make an announcement for all of you."

Prince Roland smiled nervously and stepped up to next to where the king stood. "Hello, everyone," he called. A few people called out a greeting back to him. "You may not all know me. I am Prince Roland of Kentlin, and as King Edmund said, I have a bit of an announcement." His eyes found Clara, standing across the room, and his blue eyes began to sparkle. "But first, I would like to call Princess Clara up here to be with me."

Clara's jaw dropped. What was he doing? After Kath nudged her, she closed her mouth and began to make her way toward the dais. She could feel her face burning as people around the crowd turned to stare at her. A thousand thoughts suddenly ran through her mind, and Clara found that staring into Roland's blue eyes and attempting to ignore the hundreds of pairs of eyes that were now focused on her helped to calm her thundering heart. What in the world was he doing?

Roland grinned when Clara finally made it to the dais, and he carefully took her hand. "Princess Clara," he began, as he took one knee. Clara felt her stomach twist in a knot, and she gasped in shock. Of all the thoughts that had run through her mind in the last thirty seconds, a proposal was far from what she had thought. "I would be honored if you would become my wife."

The princess's eyes filled with tears as she stared at the prince of Kentlin. Was she dreaming? Looking into his blue eyes, Clara felt her love for the man encompass her as she laughed. Glancing to her right, she saw her mother and father both smiling proudly at their daughter and the prince. To her left, Clara saw her sister grinning from ear to ear, and the crowd waiting with anticipation. Realizing that the entire room was still waiting for her answer, she looked back down to Roland, whose face had gone pale in his own anticipation.

"Yes!" she said, pulling Roland to his feet. He grinned, and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into a passionate kiss. The crowd burst into applause and cheers as the couple broke apart and grinned at each other. "I thought you were bored with me," Clara told him softly as he held her close.

Roland smiled broadly, but an air of confusion hung in his eyes for a moment. "I would never be bored with you. Why on Earth would you think that?"

"You were barely talking to me! I thought you were just putting off telling me that you had decided to…" Clara began to explain quietly, then reddened when she realized part of the crowd was still staring at them.

Roland laughed once more, and pulled her into a hug. "I'm just terrible at keeping secrets, and I was scared that I would let it slip that I was planning on asking you to marry me, and I just wanted it to be a surprise. I'm sorry if I worried you."

Clara slapped him lightly on the chest as the crowd went back to their own business. "I suppose that I forgive you," she giggled. "You look nice tonight, by the way."

"You look divine," he responded. "Your hair is really intricate, I noticed."

The princess grinned. "Kath had fun with it," she told him.

"Would you like to go and da—" Roland began before he was interrupted by his new fiancée.

"Do you even have to ask?" Clara giggled as she led him on to the dance floor, the entire room watching them with grins. From her place by the desert table, Kath smiled when she noticed the light that had been absent from her sister's eyes for the last several months had returned, and perhaps even shone a little bit brighter than it had before.

* * *

**Author's Note: Yayyyyyy! Clara and Roland are finally getting their happy ending! (Sort of...) :P Be ready for the next few chapters! The action will really be picking up! We'll be seeing some characters' true colors, and things will be getting pretty exciting! **

**Thank you so much for reading! I really appreciate everyone who has been reading this story and didn't drop off the face of the Earth like I sort of did in the fall. You guys are awesome! If you'd like, feel free to leave a review, but no pressure! :) Thanks for reading!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: Ahhhh. It's been so long since I have updated. I'm sorry about that. Every time that I think I'm going to have free time, I find that I am incredibly wrong, and my life seems to get busier than it was before. It's silly. On the bright side, I only have about six weeks left of my classes, and then it will be summer! (And in the summer, I have an easy 9-5 sort of job, so my nights will be FREE for me to write!) Who's excited for it to be summer? **

**Anyways, here is the next chapter. It picks up right where Chapter Twelve left off. To refresh your minds, since it's been like three months, Clara and Roland have just gotten engaged during Corona's winter ball. Kath has been spending a lot of time with Vincent, the oldest prince of the Southern Isles, and things may soon get a little bit messy between the two of them.**

**Shout-out to RandomButLoved for their incredibly loyalty to being the Beta of this story. I cannot thank them enough for all of the help that they have given me with this story. **

**I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thank you so much for reading this story, especially if you've been following it from the beginning! A week from today is this story's one-year-old birthday, so I will try to post the next chapter on that day as a bit of a celebration! **

* * *

"Romance is in the air tonight," Vincent whispered into Kath's ear as the princess watched her sister and future brother-in-law dance together. The young princess hadn't heard the prince of the Southern Isles approach her from behind, and jumped when she felt his breath on her neck.

Twirling around, Kath forced a sweet smile to crease her features. "You're right. They're so happy. Look at them," she said softly, turning back around to face her beaming sister. The fake smile on her face turned to a pure, genuine grin as Clara let out a hearty laugh loud enough for the entire room to hear, and Roland pulled her in closer to him.

Vincent placed his arm around Kath's waist, and the princess felt herself tense up once again. Though she had been very close to Vincent during their previous meeting, she wasn't used to being in such close proximity to young men wishing to woo her. "Would you mind if we resumed the dance that was interrupted earlier?" Vincent asked, smiling softly down at her.

"Oh!" Kath exclaimed, quickly turning to look at Vincent once more. She had forgotten that she had left Vincent hanging in the middle of the dance floor right before Roland had proposed to her sister. "Of course!" she said with a sheepish smile. Vincent and Kath joined the other couples dancing on the floor, and danced to the music in silence for a few minutes before Kath decided to start a conversation.

"You know, I've read over twenty books in the last ten weeks," she stated.

The prince of the Southern Isles raised his eyebrows. "That's a lot of books," he commented with a grin. "I take it you enjoy reading?"

"Of course I enjoy reading!" the princess scoffed. "That's about the only thing I have to do for fun around here. And our library is huge! I've started a list of all the books that I want to read. In the long run, I'd really like to read all of the books in the library, but that would take _ages_!" She paused for a moment, then said, "Vincent…do you like reading?"

Vincent raised his eyebrows even higher. "Not particularly. I don't see how it can be any fun. It's just words on a page."

The princess's brow furrowed. "J-Just words on a page?"

"Well, yes," Vincent replied. "Don't you get bored just staring at pages off black and white words constantly?"

Kath shook her head stubbornly. "Of course not! There's so many things that you can get out of reading!" The princess paused and stared at Vincent, who was giving her a blank stare in return. "You can travel around the world, learn the biggest things about the smallest things in the world, meet people you never imagined could exist, and find out a lot about yourself."

Kath paused once again, waiting for a reaction out of Vincent. The prince rolled his eyes and began looking around the room, and Kath stuck her chin out stubbornly, determined to prove that reading was not silly. "The other day I read a book about a girl who dreamed of becoming a pirate, so she disguised herself as a boy and joined a pirate crew. She figured out that even though she had always wanted to be a pirate, it wasn't what she thought it would be. Her name was Elsa, and she had to do a lot of learning before she was really able to pull off her disguise, and eventually the crew captured a prince. Elsa told the prince that she was really a girl on accident when they were alone, and she and the prince ended up falling in love, and then one day the rest of the crew found out that she was really a girl, and they got in this huge sword fight about the whole ordeal, and the prince protected her until she was finally able to convince the pirates that she had grown to love and care about to let her stay with them. She reminded them that she was the same person as Peter, which was the name she went by, and that they loved Peter. So I guess through the whole plot, she learned that she shouldn't hide who she is, and that she should embrace who she is because hiding who you are never works out very well for anyone. The only way that people will really truly accept you is when you're just you. That's a lesson that I think everyone needs to—"

"Katherine! _Enough about your books!_" Vincent suddenly interrupted. Kath jerked away from him, shocked by his sudden outburst. The other couples that had been dancing near them glanced over, and Vincent smiled at them politely as Kath stared at him in pure shock. The pit of her stomach seemed to fill with ice, and she had troubles getting her thoughts in order.

The princess stared down at her feet, running a hand over her silver and blue dress. "I-I'm sorry," she stammered to the ground, refusing to look Vincent in the eye. Her hands clenched the silky fabric of her dress, and she began to have second thoughts about the "perfection" of Prince Vincent. "I guess that I just got a little bit excited."

Vincent sighed and ran his fingers through his red hair. "Then let's talk about something else," Vincent snapped, stepping closer to her again to resume the dance once more, with a forced smile on his face.

Kath stepped away, surprising even herself a little bit. "Maybe…let's go on a walk instead," she said. Without waiting for Vincent's response, she took off toward the door to the hallways of the Corona castle. Vincent rolled his eyes again, but followed Kath nonetheless.

"Are you all right?" Vincent asked after they had made their way down one of the brightly lit hallways. Kath said nothing in response. She wasn't entirely sure what to say to him to ease the tense situation that the two had gotten themselves into. Out of nervous habit, Kath began to finger braid that hung over her shoulder.

Vincent shrugged, not picking up on the dull aura of the princess. "You always have your hair in the same braid. How come you never change it?" he questioned, hoping to change the subject.

Kath felt her face redden. "It's just what I do," she told him shortly, shrugging slightly. "I like my hair like this."

"The other princesses always have their hair styled so intricately," Vincent continued, taking Kath's hand and stopping her in the middle of the hallway.

The princess turned to Vincent and her eyes narrowed. Vincent seemed oblivious to the icy glare she was giving him. Kath's irritation grew as she bit her tongue, wondering whether or not she should actually let her true feelings escape her mouth. Finally, she wasn't able to contain it any longer as Vincent stared at her. "Then why don't you go and dance with them and leave me alone," she spat.

Vincent tightened his grip on her hand, tilting his head as he passed her a tender look. "I was just kidding, Kath. You know that I like you just the way you are." He began to lean in to kiss her, but Kath backed away, still glaring at him.

"Will you _please_ leave me alone?" she asked. "You've done enough tonight. I just…I don't want to talk anymore."

Vincent raised his eyebrows, faking innocence. "What do you mean?"

The princess pursed her lips together before responding, attempting to wrench her hand out of his without any form of avail. Kath suddenly felt her temper begin to boil inside of her, and she found her face reddening as she let her feelings escape her. "I mean that I want you to go away and leave me alone, Vincent! All you've done since Clara and Roland got engaged was be mean to me! What is your problem?"

Vincent smiled after Kath's outburst, and Kath felt shivers run down her spine. He glanced around the hallway to make sure that they were alone, and then placed his hands on both of Kath's shoulders. When she tried to pull away, his grip tightened so that she couldn't twist out of his grip. "I just want for us to stop talking and maybe—"

He was interrupted by a quick slap across the face from the princess. Vincent stared at Kath for a moment, and discovered that she must have been just as shocked as he was that she had slapped him. The prince of the Southern Isles let go of the princess after a moment, and gave her a dirty look. "You'll be sorry for that, Princess Katherine," he warned softly.

"What's going on here?" a new voice said from the end of the hallway.

Both Kath and Vincent turned to look at the newcomer, and Kath sighed with relief when she discovered that it was Roland.

"Princess Katherine and I were just bidding each other good-bye for the night," Vincent responded, a fake smile plastered on his face. Roland approached them, his eyes narrowed. "I'd like to give you my congratulations, as well, Prince Roland. You and Princess Clara will be wonderful rulers someday. I hope that the Southern Isles and Corona will be strong allies."

Roland nodded, without replying.

"Roland! There you went!" another new voice said from the far end of the hallway. Clara was scurrying down the hallway toward her new fiancé. When she reached him, she immediately took his hand, blushing as she did so. Roland gave her a warm smile before turning back to Vincent, an even glare making its way back onto his face.

"I'd…best be going then," Vincent said, before stalking back down the hallway back to the ballroom. After the door closed behind Vincent, Clara's beam fell to a frown.

"Kath, what's wrong?" she questioned. With her hand that wasn't clutching Roland's hand, she took her sister's.

Kath stared at the ground, avoiding looking at Clara and Roland.

Clara looked back to Roland when he began to speak. "Did you and Prince Vincent have a disagreement?"

The younger princess shook her head, continuing to carefully examine the ground. "You could call it that, I suppose," she answered.

The crown princess of Corona dropped her fiance's hand and pulled her sister into a hug. "I'm sorry," she whispered into Kath's hair. She felt slightly guilty as she breathed in the fresh scent of her sister's hair. Here she was, newly engaged, and her sister was broken-hearted and feeling the exact opposite of Clara's excitement.

Kath shrugged. "It is what it is. Maybe Vincent isn't who I thought he was," she stated, barely using any emotion in her tone at all.

"Sometimes that happens…" Clara told her.

"You know, this is the first time that I've ever really felt like my heart has been broken before, but this feeling seems familiar," Kath added dryly.

Clara gave her sister a sad smile. "It's all those books that you read. You read about heart-break, and you get so into your books that you feel when the characters have their hearts broken. You live vicariously through those books."

The younger princess shrugged again. "I suppose I do…" she replied. "I think I might go back to our room for the rest of the night, Clara. I know the ball isn't over yet, but will you tell Mother and Father that I was starting to feel light-headed? I want to just be alone now."

Clara nodded and pulled her sister into another hug. As she hugged her sister, Roland placed a comforting hand on his future sister-in-law's back, and Kath smiled at him as well.

"Good night," Kath said to them both. "Enjoy the rest of your night. It's not every night that you get engaged," she added with a grin. Clara and Roland both blushed as they watched the younger princess turn and continue down the hallway in the direction of the princesses' bedroom.

* * *

**Author's Note: So while Clara and Roland had a wonderful night, Kath's night turned out to be a little bit of a downer. But wait! Their night isn't over yet! The next chapter will continue their night!**

**Thank you so much for reading! If you want, feel free to leave a review or follow this story. I love getting to see that. I get my emails on my phone, and whenever I get one I do this little squeal and happy dance and people around me give me these strange looks because I barely ever talk, and it's fantastic. **


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: As promised, here is Chapter Fourteen of A Tale of Two Princesses! Annnnd HAPPY BIRTHDAY to this story. Is it weird for me to celebrate this story's birthday? I'm mostly celebrating because it's officially a year since I began posting this story, and unlike most of my fanfiction stories, I'M STILL WRITING THIS ONE (instead of abandoning it)!**

**As I am celebrating this story's birthday, I really would just like to thank all of the readers of this story. I honestly don't think that I would have half of the motivation to actually write this story without all of the encouragement that I receive from all of you. Reviews, Alerts, and even watching my Story Stats make me so excited because I know that people are reading this story. So thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your support and enthusiasm for this story.**

**So before I let you read this chapter, I have a couple of shout-outs, like always. First and foremost, shout-out to RandomButLoved, who is my incredible beta reader. Believe me. You probably wouldn't have read this far into this story without their help. And second, I'd like to give a shout-out to MyHikari and my "Guest" reviewers for reviewing Chapter Thirteen! Thank you for your feedback! :)**

**Enough rambling...here's Chapter Fourteen! :)**

* * *

"Did you see what happened before I got there?" Clara asked Roland as they wandered back into the ballroom, their arms linked together. The events of the night had been more exciting than usual for Clara, and the previous moments with her sister were enough to almost send her into a panic. There seemed to have been very little that she could do about that situation, even with Roland at her side.

Roland shook his head, lips pursed together. "I really didn't see all that much," he explained. "I could tell there was tension though. They seemed to be quite startled when I called out to them."

Clara pursed her lips too. "Maybe Kath will tell me later tonight…I hope that she's okay."

"There you two are!" the queen exclaimed when the newly engaged couple entered the ballroom again, eyes filled with concern when she saw the looks on her daughter and soon-to-be-son-in-law's faces. The conversation between the young couple quickly faded as the queen approached them. "We've been looking for you. Do you know where your sister went?" she asked, looking at Clara.

"She didn't feel very good, so she went back to our room to lie down," Clara told her mother smoothly, unsure of what else to say other than some form of the truth. Kath really didn't look like she felt very good, so she wasn't lying.

Isabelle's face fell. "Should I send someone to check on her?"

The princess shook her head. "She'll be fine. I think she was just tired. It's been a full day, after all," Clara explained.

"That it has," the queen agreed, a smile plastered on her face. "Guests have already been asking me when the date of the wedding will be so that they can be sure to be here," she continued, leading the way back up toward the front of the ballroom, where the thrones were placed. "Your father and I have already answered a million questions about the wedding—most of which we have made up answers too. You'd think people would give you at least a couple hours of being engaged before they start asking about every detail on the wedding."

Roland and Clara exchanged worried looks. "There's a lot more to planning a wedding than what you think," the queen told them both, a grin on her face.

"I feel like this is going to be a very long night," Roland mumbled to his fiancée as the queen began to lead them around to speak with various ecstatic members of the kingdom.

* * *

Kath's eyes filled with tears as soon as the door of her bedroom closed behind her. What had happened between her and Vincent? Would he ever speak to her again? Would he tell other people that she had slapped him? What would her parents do if they found out their daughter had attacked someone from another kingdom? Was attacked the right word to use?

The princess slowly made her way to her bed and sat down on the edge, staring at the books that lay on the end table next to her bed. Lying on the top of the stack was the book she had been talking about with Vincent. She had just finished it a few nights ago, and hadn't taken it back to the library yet. She picked it up, and gave the worn cover a watery smile. Her fingers found a random page in the book, and she opened it up to begin rereading the book she had fallen in love with.

_"What are you doing in here? I demand to be released at once!"_

_ Elsa made eye-contact with the prince, who she recognized from her days as a peasant girl in the capitol city. He used to go riding every Tuesday afternoon, and she would stand outside of her father's bakery, waiting to watch him soar past on his large, white horse. Through the dust that would be kicked up, she would search for his figure, and her heart had fluttered every time she saw his approaching figure._

_ "Hello," Elsa said, using the deeper voice that she had taught herself to use. "My name's Peter," she added, hoping that the prince would respond positively to kindness._

_ The prince looked the young pirate up and down, an inquisitive look on his face. "I'm Nathan," he finally said, then smiled. "But I suppose you already know that."_

_ Elsa felt her heart flutter in that familiar way when Nathan grinned. "I did," she admitted with a shrug. She smiled back at him, and realized she had just spoken in her normal voice. _

_ The prince's eyes narrowed as he stared at the girl, and he once again scanned her body. Peter was small for a pirate, even if he was young. And his voice apparently hadn't dropped yet, though most boys had gone through those changes by the time they reached the age Peter seemed to be at._

_ "Umm…" Elsa said, deciding to interrupt Nathan's thoughts before he could give too much thought to her own seeming abnormalities. "I brought you some supper," she stated. The way she said it sounded much more like she had just realized that she held a bowl in her hand filled with cold soup. _

_ "You did," Prince Nathan said, giving her a nod. He looked back at her, and as he looked into her eyes, a realization hit him. "You're—"_

_ Elsa cut him off, talking quickly. "Here's your food. Enjoy it! G-Good-bye!" she said quickly, as she began to leave._

_ "Wait!" Prince Nathan said quickly before Elsa climbed back up the ladder to the upper deck. Elsa stopped, but refused to turn back around to look into Nathan's hazel eyes. "You never untied my arms. I can't eat this soup unless you untie me. Or you can feed it to me…" he added. Elsa could hear the cheek in his voice._

_ The disguised girl turned around, and made a face at Nathan. "You're lucky I even brought you that food. The rest of the pirates wanted to starve you!" she told him, giving him a glare._

_ "Well, then I thank you for your generosity, my lady," Nathan replied slyly._

_ "Well, you're welcome, Prince Nathan!" Elsa snapped back. She stopped when she realized what he had said. Looking around, she quickly crouched down next to him, where she could whisper and have him still hear her over the sounds of the crew moving on the upper deck. "What did you call me?" she hissed, pulling a dagger from her belt to hold to the prince's throat._

_ "Woah!" Nathan said, pulling back from Elsa's blade. "No need for weaponry right now!" Elsa continued to glare at him, not moving the blade. "You're the girl from the market. You used to stand outside the bakery. I saw you there every Tuesday." _

_ Stunned, Elsa pulled her blade back. How had Prince Nathan noticed her among the rest of the peasants? Wasn't she just another face to the supposedly stuck-up prince? And how in the world could he recognize her when she looked like a boy?_

_ "What's your real name?" he questioned, staring her in the eye. Elsa recognized an honest curiosity in the prince's eyes when he spoke. "And what are you doing here?"_

_ "My name is Elsa," she whispered, glancing over her shoulder toward the ladder that led to the upper deck. "None of them know who I really am. You can't let them know, either. I'll be forced to walk the plank."_

_ Nathan smiled at her. "I wouldn't dream of it. How could I rat out the girl that I used to look forward to seeing every week?"_

_ Elsa looked up, shocked. "What?" she questioned, her eyes narrowing in confusion once again at the prince. What was he talking about?_

_ "Peter, what are you doing down here?" old Regan, the ship's captain, asked his favorite crew member from the top of the ladder. "We told you to give the prisoner his food and come back up here!"_

_ "Sorry, Captain!" Elsa quickly apologized, remembering to use her deeper tone despite her brain's sudden frazzle. "I was just giving Nath—um—the prisoner some food. We can't starve our prisoners, right Captain?"_

_ Captain Regan eyed Elsa, not quite believing her story. "Whatever. Henry's looking for you. He wants you to help him with fixing one of the tears in the sails. Since you're so little and have some skill with the needle, you're the best one to do it."_

_ "Yes, Captain!" Elsa said quickly, standing up. She didn't notice that she hadn't put the dagger back into her belt, and Nathan grabbed it quickly before Captain Regan noticed the forgotten dagger on the floor either. The captain climbed up the ladder once more, and Elsa turned back toward Nathan once more before following the captain. She gave him a quick smile that he returned before going about her duties on the upper deck._

Kath sighed after closing her book. Her sobs had subsided, and she could breathe normally once more. Reading always calmed her down when she was upset, no matter what she was upset about. She decided to allow herself an early bedtime since her day had been so eventful, and the princess walked to her closet to undress herself.

The princess clumsily pulled her foot up, and began to try to pry her slipper off her foot when she felt herself lose her balance. Normally she had either Clara or one of their maids there to assist her in undressing after a ball, so her clumsiness came from lack of experience with taking off her formal clothes on her own.

After hopping several times in an attempt to regain her balance, Kath squeaked as she began to teeter, and she eventually crashed into her stack of shoes in the back of her closet that had been collecting dust for several years. Suppressing a giggle, the princess began to attempt to pull herself back up from the pile of shoes when she noticed one of her old boots with a piece of parchment sticking out of it.

"What's this?" she asked herself quietly, pulling the parchment from the shoe and unrolling it as she reclined in the pile of shoes. After staring at her scribbles for several seconds, the princess recognized the map that she had made years before when planning her adventure with Clara. She smiled at her own childishness from the past, when she dreamed of adventures, before her face shifted to one of realization.

"I'm going to go on an adventure," she said to herself quietly. Grinning, she shifted her body around until she was standing once more. Running out of her closet, she looked outside to see that snow had begun to fall outside on the cold, winter night. Before leaving her room, the princess grabbed her cloak, and scurried to the door. Grinning she made her way through the empty hallways, the happier moments from her past came alive once more to finish off her night with adventure.

* * *

**Author's Note: Uh oh...Kath's going to be getting into some trouble. Guess we'll see where Anna and Elsa got it from. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Stay tuned for Chapter Fifteen, where you'll get to see what kind of trouble the lovely Princess Katherine is getting herself into, and you'll also get an update on how Clara and Roland's night is going. Thank you so much for reading! I don't know if I can say thank you enough times to actually be able to express how thankful I really am. You guys are awesome! :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: Hey guys! I know that it's been forever since I have updated, and I promised that I would update sooner, and I'm really sorry that I haven't. I'm hoping that I'll get in at least a couple more updates before my classes start again. Once classes start, I'm not entirely sure how much time I will have, but I hope to never abandon this story. (At least until it's finished. But then it's not counted as abandoning.)**

**Anyways, here is Chapter 15! It's a little bit longer than some of the other chapters, so YAY! Shout-outs and a HUGE thank-you to MyHikari and my "Guest" reviewer who reviewed Chapter 14! I love reading your responses! (And to answer your question, Clara will be Rapunzel's mom, and Kath will be Anna and Elsa's mom.) Annnnd I also want to throw a shout-out to my wonderful, amazing, and supportive Beta-reader, RANDOMBUTLOVED! You're awesome and I love how much you add to this story. Thank you!**

**Now without further ado...here's CHAPTER 15! :)**

* * *

"So, Clara," Roland mused, taking his fiancé's hand and subtly leading her away from a group of duchesses who had been interrogating the soon-to-be-married couple on their plans for the future. The duchesses had been giggling and grinning whenever Roland and Clara gave each other looks of confusion when they brought up a subject that neither of them had thought of yet. "I'd say it's time we…discuss some of the answers to these questions that they've been asking us."

Clara giggled, knowing that this moment would come, and squeezed his hand tightly. "I suppose we should," she agreed. "I can't believe that Lady Iris really believed you when you said we were going to invite your cousin's chimpanzee to the wedding. Where did you even come up with that idea?"

Roland's deep laugh and charming grin made Clara's stomach drop as she watched him respond to her question. "Well, she asked if we would be inviting any—how did she phrase it—'unusual guests' to our wedding."

"So you told her we would be inviting your cousin's chimpanzee?" Clara burst into a fit of giggles, imagining the look on the old woman's face when Roland calmly explained that they would be inviting Chester the chimpanzee to their wedding. "Does your cousin really have a pet chimpanzee?" she questioned after she regained control over her breath.

Roland chuckled. "No! I don't even have any cousins," he assured. "Really, these people are crazy. We just got engaged _tonight_, and they haven't left us alone for a moment since then. Do they really expect us to already know the date of our wedding, and the number of guests we'll invite, and the flavor of wedding cake that we're going to have?"

Clara laughed and took a seat on a bench in the middle of the garden. Snow was beginning to fall on the chilly winter night, and Roland removed his jacket to drape across the shoulders of his fiancé before sitting down and wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"They're just excited that there's going to be a royal wedding soon," Clara informed him with a smile. She scooted closer to Roland on the bench and leaned her head onto his shoulder. "The snow is beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" Roland agreed quietly, switching his gaze to look down at her. He grinned seeing the way the young woman was watching the snow with excitement. A snowflake fell on her face, and Roland quickly brushed it away, causing the princess's face to turn a bright red.

"Maybe we can have our wedding in the winter next year," Clara suggested as she turned her face away from her future husband to hide her blush. "I love the snow so much." The princess didn't add that she had dreamed of having a wedding in the snow for her entire life, embarrassed to say it. She also didn't want it to sway what Roland wanted, and she wanted to hear his opinion too.

Roland repositioned himself, causing Clara to look at him once more. "I was thinking that we could maybe have it before next Christmas," he admitted. "I was hoping that we could spend our first Christmas alone. Maybe we could have the wedding in the summer."

"The summer? But it's always so hot, and—" Clara stopped, realizing that she was arguing with Roland. Roland laughed at her, obviously taking no offense from her disagreement.

"How about the fall? We'll compromise. You know, the colors of all the trees are beautiful then. Maybe we could have the wedding then," the prince suggested, taking Clara's hand in his own.

The princess thought for several seconds before responding. She had dreamed of her wedding for her entire life, and had always hoped the joyous day would take place in the middle of a winter wonderland. But she was willing to do almost anything for Roland, and Roland was obviously willing to compromise with her. "The fall," Clara stated with a nod. Roland leaned down and kissed her on the lips as she smiled, content with the first decision that the two had made together.

"Perfect," Roland said softly after they broke apart. "At least one of our answers won't be made up on the spot now when people ask us what our plans are for the wedding," he joked as he stood back up. "It really is getting cold out now though. We should head back inside. I don't want you to get ill."

Clara allowed Roland to help her back up off the bench, and followed him back into the ballroom. The snow had begun to fall in heavier flakes, and Clara had to brush her shoulders off before they reentered the ballroom. "Hopefully we don't get snowed in…" she commented lightly, smiling at the snow falling from the sky.

* * *

Kath yelped as she rounded a corner and saw a guard patrolling the final doorway she needed to go through to get out of the castle and to the stables. Though it was quite late at night, Kath knew the guard would be wide-awake, on the look-out for any of the guests from the ball trying to sneak around the castle through parts where they were not welcome. Trying to think quickly, Kath decided that she needed to distract the guard if she had any hope of leaving the castle.

The first thing that came to the princess's mind was to make the guard think that something was going on in the opposite hallway. But how could she cause a fuss over there? She glanced around the corner again, and noticed that the guard was still quite young; he was one of the guards who had recently been hired by Corona's head of guards. He obviously wouldn't be up to speed on the tricks of the princesses of Corona—at least not yet.

Glancing down, the princess grinned and slowly began to ease her slipper off her foot, using the wall to help her balance, as there would be no point in having another episode of clumsiness like the one she had just had in her closet if she hoped to sneak out of the castle. After removing her shoe, she leaned down to pick it up, having to bend herself into an awkward position to do so. She let out a grunt, and slapped a hand over her mouth, hoping the young guard hadn't noticed.

A few seconds of silence passed, and Kath decided that the guard must not have heard her. Without giving her plan too much thought, Kath leaned around the corner and tossed her slipper across the room and into the opposite hallway. The shoe arched through the air above the guard's view, and landed with a _thud!_ in the opposite hallway. Kath turned back around the corner and threw her fist into the air in triumph.

"Excuse me? Is someone there?" the guard called out to the hallway. Silence answered him. "Hello?" he called again. Kath took a moment to glance around the corner once more, and discovered the guard's back was turned to her, and he was walking toward the opposite hallway. Recognizing this opening as her time to escape, Kath ran to the door, and opened it as silently as she could and slipped outside, being careful to not let the door creak behind her.

Her grin growing by the minute, she ran to the stables, not turning her back to check if anyone was pursuing her. When she reached the stable, Kath was happy to find that it was empty of any other people, thanks to the celebration ball in the castle. She approached her horse, and was thankful that her parents had insisted that she learn to saddle and take care of Silver as soon as she began to ride as a child.

"Hey, Silver," she greeted calmly. Silver looked at her as if to say, "_What on earth are you doing here at this time of night?"_

Kath gently patted his nose, and he pranced in the stall. "I have a sugar cube for you," she told him, giving him a smile. As Silver took the sugar cube from Kath's open hand, she gave him a smile. "We're going on an adventure," she said softly, her eyes filling with excitement.

* * *

"Excuse me? Ladies and gentlemen?" the king called out to the ballroom, hands tucked behind his back. "I have an announcement for all of you," he said when everyone quieted. "It seems that Mother Nature is enjoying our ball as much we are, and she wanted us to stay here for a bit longer." As one, the guests turned to look out the windows of the ballroom, and saw that several feet of snow had fallen since the beginning of the ball. The guests let out a chuckle before the king continued. "We have already asked the servants to arrange sleeping quarters for all of you, as we feel that letting any of you leave the castle in this blizzard could potentially be hazardous to your health. We'll have arrangements made for all of you before the ball is over. Until then, please continue to enjoy yourselves! We've brought out fresh treats as well as hot cocoa, so please help yourselves!"

Clara laughed after her father finished speaking. "You know, I sort of called that one," she told Roland, who grinned in response. "Kath would be excited to see all of this snow. She loves it as much as I do. Although, I'm sure she would much rather be running around in it than admiring it from inside with a cup of hot cocoa and a book," Clara clarified as she turned to look outside. "Although I'm sure she wouldn't mind being curled up with some hot cocoa and a good book either, so who knows what she would be doing?"

Roland smiled warmly. "My mother always has the servants make hot cocoa when it snows in Kentlin, which isn't very much. I suppose that's something that I'll have to get used to here, huh?" Roland replied.

The princess shrugged. "It does snow here, but not as much as it does in say…Arendelle or those other northern countries. The kingdoms north of here definitely get much more snow than we do." Clara suddenly felt a wave of fatigue phase her, and she let out a wide yawn.

"You're getting tired…" Roland observed.

Clara glared at him, but nodded nonetheless. "It's been a busy night," she insisted. "I'm allowed to be tired."

Roland nodded in agreement. "I won't argue with that. I should turn in soon as well. Mind if I walk you back to your room?" he asked her, offering the princess his arm to escort her.

Nodding, Clara took his arm, not even bothering to tell her parents that she was leaving for the night, knowing they would be busy making arrangements for the guests to spend the night in the castle.

As Roland walked Clara back to her room, the couple continued to discuss the plans for their wedding. Other than the date, the two hadn't come up with any other definite answers to the questions they had been asked by the guests at the ball. Clara had decided they would wait until another day to make all of those decisions.

"Here we are…" Clara mumbled in slight disappointment as they stopped outside of her room. "I'm sure Kath is already inside and asleep. I do hope she's okay," Clara added as she pressed her ear against the door and heard silence. She turned back around and allowed Roland to embrace her in a passionate kiss before they broke apart.

"I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you," Roland said, still holding the princess close to him. Clara's heart fluttered as she stared into his sapphire blue eyes, speechless. "I love you," the prince added, giving Clara a quick kiss on the forehead.

"I love you too," Clara replied, grinning. The butterflies in her stomach seemed to be trying to break out, and she let out a giggle. "Good night," she said, turning away from him. Roland stood there for a moment before walking away, and Clara gave him a quick wave before opening up her door to her silent bedroom.

The princess began to undress without turning on the lights so that she wouldn't disturb her sister, but after a few moments, she realized that she didn't hear the quiet breathing of Kath's sleep. In the dark, Clara stared at her sister's bed, then realized that Kath wasn't in her bed as she thought she was.

"Kath! Are you in here?" she called out, cautiously shuffling over to turn on a light. She didn't hear a response. Scanning the room, Clara discovered that her sister's cloak was gone, meaning that she had gone out into the snow storm. For a moment, she smirked to herself, realizing that her sister had done exactly what their father had instructed the ball's guests _not_ to do.

Then, without a second thought, Clara grabbed her own cloak from her closet, and raced back through the door, calling Roland's name. Roland came running back from one of the hallways, hearing his love calling out in distress. "Clara, what is it?" he asked after seeing that Clara herself was not injured. He checked the hallway for any alarming signs, then turned back to look at Clara.

"Kath's run away. Will you come with me to find her?" Clara asked, draping her cloak around her shoulders. Her tone was surprisingly calm for how much her mind was racing with thoughts of Kath stranded somewhere in the storm.

"Of course!" Roland answered, taking off down the hallway toward the stables with Clara at his side. "Do you have any idea where she's run off to?"

Clara shook her head. "No clue," she responded. Reaching out, she grabbed Roland's hand, and he squeezed hers in a comforting gesture.

"We'll find her," he assured her, looking Clara in the eye.

* * *

**Author's Note: So I lied...we still don't know what sort of trouble Kath is getting herself into. But don't worry! Clara and Roland are to the rescue! Maybe...**

**Just kidding! :) If you guys don't mind, I love reviews, so if you have a few seconds, please just let me know what you think of the story. Now that Clara and Kath are getting older, it's getting close to wedding time for both of them. (Yeah, I said both. Kath's love interest is coming...eventually...)**

**Thank you all so much for reading! It really means a lot to me that so many of you have been reading this story so much. I have no intentions of abandoning it, so stay tuned for more! :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note: Guys, guys, guys! I'm updating again! Within like a month! That never happens! I'm so excited! Also...I think this is one of the best chapters yet. I'm really proud of how this one turned out, and it was a lot of fun to write. I hope that you all enjoy it! (Kath gets in a tiny bit of trouble...)**

**Thank-you shout-outs to my wonderful and faithful reviewers, MyHikari and my "Guest" reviewer! You two are awesome! Also, shout-out to my Beta, RandomButLoved, who is incredible. You guys have no idea how much they help to make this story readable. They're fantastic. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own _Frozen_ or _Tangled_. Nor will I ever have the money to somehow purchase them. They're Disney's.**

* * *

She _had_ to get to that castle; that was all that Kath knew now. Glancing back down at the map, she squinted her eyes to try to see through the falling snow, but found herself groaning instead. Her abilities to draw a map at the age of twelve were somewhat lacking, and she struggled to interpret what she had meant by all of the squiggly lines and circles. Part of her wished that she could return to the time when she could effortlessly remember what all of her cryptic symbols meant, but she knew that she was better off now.

"Let's try going…this way," she muttered to Silver, who followed her orders obediently. He was a good horse, though he was now questioning his mistress's sanity as he trudged through three feet of snow.

After a few more moments, Kath glanced up again, and noticed an area off the path, and decided to take a chance and abandon the path that they had followed for the last several miles. She attempted to remember back to the day when she and Clara had been riding and they had discovered the castle. They had gone off the path, and then rode for quite a while. But just where exactly was it that they had left the path? Everything looked so different with the snow covering everything…

Kath and Silver rode for a little bit longer in the snow, and Kath's toes on her bare foot were now beyond cold; the winter blizzard had made her toes go numb. She hadn't been thinking very clearly when she had thrown her shoe past that guard. If she had her way, she would now be wearing large boots that would keep her feet warm, but she couldn't help that now; there was no going back.

"Do you remember which way we went, Silver?" she questioned her horse. Kath knew it was a long shot, but maybe Silver had a really good memory—or at least one better than her own. Silver whickered and turned to the left. "Really?" Kath asked, chuckling to herself in sheer disbelief. Apparently Silver did have a better memory than she did after all.

The duo rode in silence for a little bit longer, and Kath took the time to admire the forest in the dark. There was enough moonlight that she could see the glittering snow that was laid out in front of her. If she had been properly attired, she may have gotten down off of Silver and sauntered through the snow with him.

Suddenly, Kath began to hear a crack just above her, and looking up, she saw that a branch from the tree above her had begun to fall with the weight of the snow. Silver must have sensed it too, and took a few quick steps forward, protecting both Kath and himself from the falling branch. "G-Good Silver," Kath stuttered after regaining her breath. She gave her horse a pat on the back; however another crack was heard as the two rested.

Silver took off running through the trees, trying to avoid the area were the branches were beginning to fall. Something strange was going on, as if the branches were purposefully falling to guide the horse and princess along a predestined path. Eventually, Silver and Kath came to a clearing, and Kath gasped.

"We made it, Silver!" she exclaimed to her horse. In front of them was the large clearing full of snow, followed by the enormous castle.

However, after a moment of observation, Kath realized that this castle was different from the one she had seen all those years ago. The castle was now covered in a layer ice, and not just from the falling snow. The translucent ice glittered on the castle, highlighting every embellishment of the castle's design. "Wow…" she breathed, staring at the fortress. "Let's go, Silver!"

Silver and Kath galloped toward the castle, and Kath's face broke into a large grin. She was finally getting what she had wanted all those years ago: an adventure!

Once they were close enough to the castle, Silver came to a halt. "Sorry, boy," Kath said as she slid down off of the horse. "You'd better stay outside. I don't think this castle was made to support horses exploring its hallways."

When she hit the ground, Kath grimaced. "Cold, cold, cold!" she squeaked to herself as her bare foot touched the snow; when she looked down she grimaced, seeing that some of her toes had begun to turn blue on the tips. After recovering, she looked up to the castle, grin a mile wide despite the fact that she was freezing. The cold didn't seem so bad when she thought of the adventure she was about to have.

The princess made her way up the steep steps, being careful to not slip on the ice. When she reached the door, she glanced back at Silver. The horse whinnied, and Kath gave him a grin. "I'll be careful," she assured him, as if his whinny had been a warning to watch after herself in the castle.

She opened the door, and gasped when she saw the inside of the castle. A large foyer lay in front of her. A staircase was directly ahead of her, and a long hallway lay to both sides of the door. The stairs seemed like a good decision for now, so Kath began to slowly climb them, continuing to take in her surroundings. The walls were lined with pictures, but she couldn't see the subject of any of the pictures due to the icy layers that covered all of them. She wondered where all of the ice had come from, knowing that it must not have been natural. Could something—or maybe _someone_—have caused this icy fortress to form?

At the top of the staircase, Kath turned around to examine the foyer once more. A large chandelier of ice hung in the middle of the room. The light that was keeping the room illuminated was coming from the chandelier, and Kath wondered how it was possible for ice to cause light. Maybe she could find whoever had caused the ice and ask them how it worked. Hopefully they would be friendly.

Off to the side of the balcony she now stood on, Kath saw a long hallway. At the end of the hallway, was a door cracked open. A stream of light flooded the hallway from the room, and Kath decided that there must be someone in that room. They would probably be able to answer all of her questions—she so many she wanted answered.

She took off down the hallway, at first at a determined walk, but slowed to a calm, almost hesitant stroll as she looked at the various doors that led down the hallway a thought crossing her mind. It was possible that the person in that room could be unfriendly, and upset with her for just barging into the castle, or they could maybe even harm her. Was it really a good idea for her to be in this castle?

"Is someone there?"

Kath froze, hearing a woman's voice from the room ahead of her. For a moment, she considered running in the opposite direction, but decided against it. She probably would have slipped on the ice anyway.

"Y-yes!" she replied, teeth chattering violently as she approached the door. Before she made it to the door, it swung open to reveal a small room. In the center of the room was a table made out of ice, with various vials, beakers, cups, and cauldrons—all also made out of ice—lined up on it. A woman dressed in a sparkling white dress stood behind it. Her hair was so light it was close to white in color, and she wore it in curls that hung loosely down her back. Her skin was pale, and her eyes were light gray in color. When Kath made eye contact with her, she felt a chill run down her spine.

"Who are you?" she asked the woman. The woman gave her a smile, and extended a welcoming hand to her.

"My name is Jade," she replied. "And this is my home. May I ask who you are?"

Kath gulped. "Katherine," she replied. She drew her cloak around her closely as the room began to grow colder. "I was just exploring out in the night…and happened to find this castle. You live here?"

"I do. A few years ago I found this castle, old and abandoned, and I decided to turn it into my ice fortress," Jade explained. She eyed Kath's outfit, and her grin grew. "Would you like to stay here for the night with me?"

Kath shivered. "Here? I-in the ice castle? Won't I get cold? I mean…you seem to not really be affected by this cold, but it really is quite cold in here to me, at least."

Jade's eyes widened. "Oh! You're right, Katherine," she said. "Here, come sit over here, and you'll warm up. Are you from this area? I don't often have visitors."

The princess followed the directions that Jade gave her, and took a seat in an icy chair that Jade offered her. "I'm a princess from Corona," she explained. Jade's brows rose, but she kept the calm, welcoming look on her face that she'd worn since Kath entered the room.

"And what did you say you were doing out in the cold tonight?" Jade questioned.

"Oh, I was…" Kath trailed off, wondering how much she really should share with this strange woman. "I was out getting some fresh air during the ball we were having."

Jade nodded, turning back to the table with all of her tools on it. "I've never met a princess before," Jade told her. Kath watched her hands as she worked, and pulled her cloak closer to her. She really wasn't warming up at all, much to her dismay. Jade picked up a vial, and silver-colored liquid began to form inside of it, glittering as Jade waved her opposite hand over it.

"You're making the ice!" Kath suddenly realized aloud. Jade smiled.

Jade smiled. "I was born with magic, Katherine. I can do incredible things with it," she explained. To show her point, she turned and rubbed her hands together before bringing them apart in a dramatic arch. Snow began to fall in the room. Kath gasped.

"That's incredible!" she exclaimed. Watching the snow, she did feel a little bit of fear enter her thoughts. Jade must be a very powerful woman if she had all of those powers. What would happen if Jade was angered someday? She could attack Corona. Kath decided that as soon as she returned home, she would inform her parents of Jade. Not so that they could arrest her or anything awful like that…more so that they could keep an eye on her. "What else can you do?"

Jade smiled. "You must have been admiring my castle as you came in. I could build an entire city with my powers. I've also recently discovered that I can also give my powers to others, if I take the time to create a spell. I have plans you see, to have a group of young women to follow my path and have the same ice powers that I do."

Kath stared at her, and her fear grew a little bit more. "You mean…you can cast a spell and others will get your powers too?"

"Something like that, I suppose" Jade said. "But I've tried it before. Most other people don't take as kindly to my powers as you have, Katherine."

The princess made a face. "Well, why not? You seem nice enough to me." _I think_, she added to herself.

Jade turned away, casting her eyes out to the world through one of the frost-covered windows of the room. "I suppose people think my powers are dangerous. That I'll hurt them…or destroy everything that they love."

Kath's heart suddenly sank as she remembered something. A couple of months ago she had been walking down a hallway when she overheard a man talking to her father in his office. They had been talking about a woman—an ice witch—who had destroyed an entire city after a man attacked her for trying to kidnap his infant daughter. Her father had then sent troops to chase down the woman and arrest her, but she had disappeared. Jade had to be that woman, didn't she? How many other ice witches could be wandering around the kingdom?

"Katherine?"

Kath jumped when she heard Jade say her name.

"Y-yes?" she stammered, starting to tremble—and not just from the cold.

"How would you feel about having the powers that I do? I could give them to you for you to have, and you could be my…oh, let's call you my apprentice," Jade said softly.

"I…" Kath began, suddenly at a loss for words. "I don't think that I can take that offer, Jade. I eventually will have a kingdom to run. That would seem like a lot of responsibility…"

"Isn't that the point?" Jade demanded, her eyes suddenly glowing with excitement. "Once you have a kingdom to run, you and I can rule it together."

Kath raised her eyebrows, unable to conceal her disbelief. Jade just wanted power. And she meant to use Kath as a puppet in getting that power. "No, Jade," she said. "And I think that I'm going to leave now." The princess stood, and began to leave the room.

"No! Please stay here with me!" Jade protested, intercepting Kath before she made it to the door. "I need someone! Someone kind, like you!"

Resisting the urge to push past the woman, Kath took a deep breath. "I need to return to my castle, now," Kath told her flatly, heart suddenly panging with a sense of desperation to return to the bland walls of her home. At the same time, she felt conflicted. Maybe Jade really was just lonely, and needed a friend. With Clara soon getting married…maybe she could be a friend to Jade…

"No!" Jade repeated, this time yelling. She threw her hand out, and an icy blast erupted from her. The princess's thoughts of sympathy for the mysterious woman vanished, and she turned to dodge the blast. As she turned, Kath's feet slid out from underneath her on the icy floor, and she felt herself crashing to the floor. Before hitting the floor, Kath's head slammed into the table, and her vision began to blur.

"If you won't stay here, I'll make you pay," Jade muttered.

Before Kath could respond, everything went black and she slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

**Author's Note: Oh no! Kath's in trouble...maybe someone will come to save her... :)**

**That was a little bit of a cliffhanger, but I think you guys will be okay. If you enjoyed this chapter, please take a couple of seconds to drop a review off. I love hearing feedback. I'm also getting to a point in the story where I'd be open to hearing some requests from readers. What sorts of things would you like to see in this story? I'm planning for like 100+ chapters in this someday, and I would love to make you readers happy by including things that you would like to see. I'm pretty open, so I won't think that anything is outrageously crazy or anything like that. (You should hear some of the ideas that I've come up with before. It's a wonder my roommate still puts up with me.)**

**Anyways...thank you all _so, so, so_ much for reading! The next update will hopefully be up SOON! :D**


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! I know that it's been a _long_ time since I have updated, and I apologize for that. Unfortunately, it's been a very long and busy semester for me, and I haven't had much time for doing anything other than homework and work. BUT I am glad that I got some time in over my Christmas break for some writing finally, and with that time, I get to post an update, which is always exciting for me!**

**Thank you to all of you who have been sticking with reading this story through the random intervals between updates! I really appreciate having readers who are loyal and excited to read about what comes next. Again, I'd like to send a shout-out to my AMAZING Beta reader, RandomButLoved. They are wonderful and I swear that they work magic on this story to make it so much better! Also, shout-outs to the Chapter Sixteen reviewers, MyHikari, KLRocks100, and my guest reviewer. I appreciate all of you! :)**

**Anyways...on to the new chapter now! Kath's adventure continues while Roland and Clara attempt to find her! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own _Tangled_ or _Frozen_. The characters belong to Disney, not me.**

* * *

"So how good at tracking are you, dear?" Clara asked her fiancé as they began to ride along the path toward the forest. They could clearly see lone tracks headed in the direction of the royal forest by the moonlight peeking through the clouds above them. Both Clara and Roland knew that the tracks had to be the younger princess's—no one else would be crazy enough to go out in this snow. However, the couple also knew that with the rate the snow was falling, Kath's tracks would soon be covered.

"I'm not the best, but I may know more than you do," he replied softly, grimacing as he tried to not boast. "Have you ever gone hunting?"

The princess laughed. "No," she admitted. "However, I'd love to see my mother's face if I even asked if I could go hunting. She's not a very big fan of it."

The prince of Kentlin shrugged. "I'm not much of a fan of it either. My father always forced me to go with him. Since he passed away I haven't gone, and that was five years ago now. My tracking skills will be a little bit rusty."

"I guess that's all we have for now…" Clara told him, not wanting to move deeper into the subject of his father. They could save that discussion for another time. "Let's see how far we can get before we lose her tracks." Clara urged Strawberry into a gallop, and Roland took off behind her on his own horse, and they rode for several minutes along the path in the forest.

When they allowed their horses to rest for a few moments, Roland looked around. "She's gone really deep into this forest," he murmured. Clara gave him a wary look, already knowing that her sister was probably in deep trouble. "Didn't your parents teach you two anything about wandering off alone? Especially in, you know, the middle of a nighttime blizzard?"

Clara rolled her eyes, knowing that he was just trying to lighten their moods. "Of course they did! Kath is just not very good at listening. She loves adventure too much."

Roland gave his fiancée a grin, reaching across the distance between them to gently take Clara's hand in his as a midwinter chill blew through the forest. "Let's hope that our children at least inherit some of your good sense."

The princess pulled tightly on the reins of Strawberry out of shock. "Our children?" she repeated, her face going pale as she imagined the idea of having children. She didn't feel at all ready for that sort of responsibility at the moment.

Roland turned to look at her, his grin slightly faded. "Well, Clara, we _are_ getting married. And we will be running a kingdom together. We'll eventually have to have at least one child, will we not?"

Clara pursed her lips in thought. Of course she would have children with Roland. She just hadn't really put any thought into it yet. It scared her a little bit—well maybe a lot. Was she really ready to get married? She was only seventeen. Maybe Roland would be okay with them waiting for at least a little bit longer before they got married.

"Clara? Are you all right?" Roland had laid a hand on the young woman's arm, and she had started at his touch. His sapphire eyes were inquisitively staring at her, and his face was full of worry. "I didn't mean to startle you…" he added.

"I'm fine," Clara said, forcing a smile onto her face. "It's just…do you think we're rushing this whole marriage thing?"

Roland's grip on her arm tightened slightly. "I don't think so, dear," he responded, his voice soft. "We've been courting for a year and a half."

Clara turned away, wishing the moon would go behind a cloud so that Roland wouldn't be able to see her face. She knew she was blushing furiously at the moment. "Maybe we should take another year and a half to be engaged and plan a wedding that we will be really special."

"So what you're saying is…" Roland said, his tone lower than normal. She did not sense anger in his tone, but she knew that there was possibly some hidden disappointment in his voice. Clara knew his face was probably twisted in puzzlement, but she was reluctant to meet his eyes.

"How about we wait until next fall for our wedding?" she suggested. "I mean, I know you wanted to be married by next Christmas, but it might be better for us to wait—"

Roland took Clara's hand and squeezed it, causing her to turn and look back toward him, cutting off her rambling before it went too far. Her prince had a small smile on his face, and his blue eyes were shining when she looked into them. "I am happy as long as you are happy," he told her. Leaning over, he pressed a kiss to Clara's forehead.

"R-Really?" she asked, a bit flabbergasted. She was honestly expecting him to be upset with her suggestion.

"Yes!" he exclaimed, following it with a chuckle, shaking his head lightly at her antics. "Now let's go find your sister, love," he added, urging his horse forward once more.

Clara sat very still on Strawberry for a moment, her mouth hanging open. Roland was a very special young man, and at this point, she knew she was incredibly lucky to have him. As silly as he may be at times, she was very thankful for him and his support through everything. She hoped that he knew how much she loved him.

"Hey, wait up!" she called to him, seeing him begin to disappear in the distance.

After she caught up to him, she discovered that he had stopped. "The trail ends here," Roland informed her calmly. His brow was furrowed, and she could tell that he was contemplating what they should do next.

Clara observed the area, biting her bottom lip. "Well she couldn't have just disappeared…" she muttered, twisting herself around in the saddle to fully take in her surroundings. She realized then that there was something familiar about her surroundings. She had been here before… "I know where we are!" she finally said, looking back toward Roland, giving him a smile.

"Wonderful! Because I haven't a clue," Roland replied, smiling back at her.

"We have to go off the path now. I think I know where she's going too," Clara told him. "Let's go!"

Before Roland could protest, he watched his fiancée take off riding off the path into the thick forest trees. He watched her for a moment, in awe of her beauty as her hair tumbled down out of her updo as she and Strawberry galloped down the slight hill. Her determination sometimes amazed him, but he loved her for it, and now he was very happy at the privilege of being able to love her for the rest of their lives.

* * *

Kath came around a few minutes later, and found herself trapped in an icy cage. After realizing that she was indeed trapped, Kath began to wearily watch Jade, who was now busily working at her table. For a moment, the princess debated whether or not she should speak, or pretend like she was still unconscious. The former ended up being her choice.

"So now you've trapped me here?" she stated, her voice as icy as the cage she was trapped in. Kath knew that she would not sit there forever like a pampered princess and wait for the answers and a chance of escape to reach her. She had to find a way out, and she hoped she could have some influence on Jade through tactical conversation.

Jade winced, and turned to look at her prisoner. A smile appeared on her face when she saw the princess's blue eyes were shooting her a nasty glare. "I've decided that even if you are unwilling to become my apprentice, I could still make use of you somehow."

Kath pursed her lips in thought. "What do you mean by that?"

The older woman's gray eyes flashed with excitement, and her fingers flexed as magic twinkled in the air. Kath felt the temperature drop, but she kept her jaw set stubbornly. "You won't even remember this," Jade began. "So I may as well tell you now. Since you were so unwilling to take my offer of having the same powers that I do, even though you would become an incredibly fearsome and powerful ruler with ice magic, I've decided that if I wait for a few more years, I'll have someone else I can recruit as my apprentice. Your first child will do nicely."

"What?" Kath yelped, her hand subconsciously resting on her stomach. Her first child? She was sixteen. She wasn't courting anyone, and marriage wasn't even in her future as far as she could tell. How could Jade already be thinking of her having children?

"As soon as my spell is complete, you will wake up in the middle of the forest, and not have a single memory of anything that has happened tonight," Jade explained, her cold smile growing. "And I am almost done…"

Kath shook her head, trying her hardest to keep calm. Would Jade really wait for years before someone would even be born with her powers? Who knew when Kath would actually get around to getting married, let alone having children of her own. But how would she feel, years from now, when her first child was born with ice magic?

Another thought popped into the princess's head, and she couldn't resist it spilling out of her mouth. "Why do you want to have someone here with you with the same powers as you so badly?" After asking her question, Kath immediately realized what the answer must be.

Jade was lonely.

The woman in question gave her a glare. "That's none of your business," was her short answer.

"You don't deserve to be alone. No one does!" Kath told her softly.

"_Enough_!" Jade yelled, turning back to her table. She waved a hand over the vial that she had been making her spell in, and smiled. Leaving the vial there, she walked over to the wall, where Kath saw a scepter was hung.

As soon as the woman's hands reached the scepter, they heard a crash from in the hallway, followed by soft voices, then a shout: "Kath! Kath, are you in here?"

* * *

**Author's Note: So now they're all sort of in trouble...uh oh. Hopefully I can get the next chapter posted soon, but I can't make any promises. This last semester of my college career is going to be busier than any of my other ones, so I will try to write when I have time. Anyways, if you have time, don't be afraid to leave a review! I really appreciate them, and I love getting feedback from all of you! :) Thank you for reading!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note: Holy cow, it's been a long time! I've had an insanely busy last few months, so that is what has kept me from updating. Unfortunately, I can't really tell if the coming months are going to be even busier or if I'll get a bit of a break. It's hard to tell, but I'm hoping that I'll have more time for writing. Sorry for making you wait so long!**

**Anyways, here's the next chapter! Things get a little bit intense in this chapter, so be prepared for that. :)**

**Disclaimer: I'm not Disney, and these belong to Disney. So they're not mine. :)**

* * *

"This is it!" Clara called to her fiancé, hope rising in her chest as the sight came into view. Roland had only just caught up to her when she slowed her horse to stare at the giant ice castle, breath fogging around his face. "Except…last time we were here, it wasn't made of ice," she added, biting her bottom lip.

Roland gave the castle a glare, remembering a rumor he had heard from some villagers on his way from Kentlin to Corona to propose to his soon-to-be bride. None of those rumors had been positive ones. "I've heard rumors of an ice witch in the area. How much do you want to bet that ice witch made this castle?"

The princess's lips formed into a straight line, and her stomach clenched as she hoped that Kath wasn't in trouble. "She may have Kath in there," she said, sliding off her horse and sprinting up the stairs without a moment of hesitation. "We have to save her!"

The prince quickly followed Clara into the castle, his sword drawn from the sheath that hung at his waist. He was ready to protect his princess and her sister from any danger that they may face within the mysterious ice castle.

* * *

"Who is that?" Jade snapped, dropping her arm from the scepter before she reached it.

"It's my sister! And her fiancé!" Kath exclaimed, her hand gripping a bar of the icy cell around her. As soon as she said it, she regretted it. She shouldn't have let the ice witch know that her rescue team consisted of the future rulers of Corona. Even in the few hours that Kath had been in the castle, she knew that Jade was a cunning witch, who would do anything for power.

"Your _sister_?" Jade mused, running her fingers along her scepter. The tone the woman used confirmed Kath's suspicions about the woman: she would much rather curse Clara, the older princess—and soon to be married—than the younger princess who at this point had no marriage prospects in her future.

The door opened, and Jade turned her head toward the newcomers.

"No! Run!" Kath yelled, seeing her sister and future brother-in-law crash into the room. "It's a trap!"

"What?" Clara said, before a scream escaped her mouth. Jade shot an icy blast at Roland, and pinned him against the wall. Clara began to run toward him, but her feet were suddenly encased in icy blocks, holding her in her place.

"You have to get away, Clara! Go!" Kath urged, knowing her sister was stuck. "She's going to—" Jade shot another icy blast toward Kath, knocking her unconscious. The cage around Kath disappeared, and reappeared over Clara. The older princess stared at the woman in fear.

"What have you done?" she asked, her voice trembling. Taking another deep breath, she said in a stronger and official tone, "As the crown princess of Corona, I order you to release us all!" _That was a long shot,_ Clara thought to herself as the ice witch turned and let out a mocking laugh.

"Do you really think that I have to listen to you?" the woman queried. The malicious look in her gray eyes sent a chill down Clara's spine.

"You release her now!" Roland yelled from his place. "She is a princess, and soon enough she'll be the queen of this kingdom! Don't you touch her!"

"Ah," the ice witch said, approaching Clara's icy cage. She reached through the bar, and placed her hand gently on Clara's cheek. Clara pulled away, and Jade's fingernails trickled along the princess's cheek. "That's exactly why I've chosen you now."

"Chosen me for what?" Clara questioned, as she began to tremble.

"_Leave her alone!_" Roland shouted, fighting the shackles of ice that held him to the wall. His attempts were futile, and a tone of desperation had entered his voice.

The ice witch grinned at him, then looked back to Clara. "My curse," she whispered, before quickly turning around to approach her table in the middle of the room. Her eyes now flashed in excitement as she seized the scepter that hung on the wall.

"You can't do this!" Roland said, his voice now much softer. When the witch ignored him, he looked to Clara, who now sat in a huddled mess on the floor of her cage. "Clara!" The princess didn't move. "Clara!" he repeated, a little bit louder. She looked up to him and his heart sank when he saw tears filling her eyes. "I'm sorry!" he told her, his own blue eyes now rimmed with tears.

Clara, the love of his life, was about to be attacked by this witch, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"I'll be okay," Clara whispered to him. She wrapped her cloak around herself, feeling a chill suddenly go down her spine.

"How sweet," the ice witch said from the table. The vial with the curse was now in her hand, and the silver scepter was in her other hand. "Too bad you won't remember this either," she added, a grin crossing her face.

Clara sat up, and clutched a bar of the cage. "You won't get away with this," she stated fiercely. "An attack on any member of the royal house is considered treason. We will find you," she added sternly. "And you will be arrested."

The woman smiled, white teeth flashing. "If you're so sure…" she said absent-mindedly. She began to pour the liquid in the vial over her scepter, and a laugh escaped her lips. "I've finally succeeded," she whispered to herself. She thought of the years in the future when the princess would produce a child. If the witch stayed close enough to the area, she would know when the child was born, and she could kidnap the child to raise it as her own. The child would love her, and together, she and the child would eventually rule the kingdom—as long as everything went as planned, of course.

"Well, Princess Clara," the ice witch began, now walking out from behind the table. "Prepare yourself," she instructed, raising the scepter.

"No! Stop!" Roland shouted, fighting the shackles fiercely now.

The scepter began to glow, and Clara let out a frightened scream as a bright light flashed around the room and sound like thunder began to rumble through their bones. The princess watched in horror as the silvery stream of light began to rush toward her, but then stopped. For several seconds, a blinding light filled the room, preventing both Clara and Roland from seeing anything that was happening in the room, then faded, revealing a quiet room. A lifeless body fell to the ground just in front of her cage, where she had been cowering in fear of the curse.

"Kath!" she shouted, rushing to the front of her cage to stare at her sister's body. Just as she reached the edge of the cage, the bars vanished, allowing Clara to take her sister in her arms. As Kath's heal lolled back, she realized that her sister must have regained consciousness just in time to jump in front of the curse before it reached Clara.

As Roland was freed from his own icy shackles, he rushed over to his fiancée, who sat cradling her sister. "You're all right," he breathed as he pulled Clara into a tight hug, kissing the top of her head.

"I am, but I don't think Kath is," Clara whispered, staring down at her sister. Seeing her sister so pale and broken as she laid in her arms felt like a stab to her chest. Immediately, Clara began to regret all of the fights that she had ever had with Kath, and wished that she could just tell her sister how much she loved her. "We have to get her back to the castle!"

The prince nodded, and stooped to pick the unconscious princess up into his arms.

"Wait!" Clara exclaimed, a realization coming to her mind. "Where'd the witch go?" she continued, her voice low. The couple looked around the room, and both of their eyes settled on the lifeless body of the woman in question. The blast must have hit her too, and sent her flying back into the table. Her body lay among the broken shambles of the table. Neither of them moved to help her.

"Let's get out of her before she wakes up," Roland suggested. His fiancée nodded, and grabbed his arm, leading him out of the castle as he carried the younger princess. As they left the room, they felt a violent tremor throughout the castle.

"I think the castle is collapsing," Clara stated when they both paused, her green eyes widening. "We need to run! Let's go!"

Around them, pieces of the ceiling began to crash to the ground. Clara led the way, pulling Roland behind her. Kath rested peacefully in Roland's arms as the couple frantically made their way to the doors.

"Watch out!" Clara screamed to Roland as the icy chandelier that had hung in the middle of the room fell just feet away from Roland as he rushed toward the door. He nodded in thanks to his future wife, and within seconds they had made it to the door.

For a short moment, the prince and princess turned around to stare at the castle as it began to slowly collapse. "Let's hope that witch never escapes that," Roland muttered. The once beautiful castle of ice now looked like nothing more than a fort built by children for a snowball fight.

Clara nodded. "Let's get Kath back to the castle now," she said, climbing up onto her horse. Roland climbed onto his own horse with a skill that Clara briefly admired, as Kath was hoisted over his shoulder. Once he was sitting on his horse, he let the princess slide down to rest on the saddle in front of him. With a nod, he and Clara began to rush back toward the castle.

* * *

**Author's Note: Yay! They made it! Everyone's safe...sort of. The next chapter will hopefully be up soon! From here on out, I think that things will be moving at a bit of a quicker pace. Clara and Roland's wedding will be coming up, and sooner or later Kath will find herself meeting a certain someone from Arendelle. Stay tuned for the next chapter! AND thank you so much for reading! I know it's sometimes not as much fun to read when there are months in between story updates, but thank you so much for sticking with this story! I really appreciate all of you who have been reading and reviewing! Thank you! :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note: Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay, once again. Life has been busy but it's gotten less stressful lately. I hope that you enjoyed the last chapter! This chapter takes place the morning after where Chapter 18 left off.**

**Shout-out to KLRocks100 for their review for the last chapter! Hopefully this one will be equally satisfying. :) Thank you for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tangled or Frozen, which both belong to Disney.**

* * *

Kath woke up the next morning, safe in her own bed. More blankets than usual were piled on top of her, and as her sleepy haze cleared, she noticed Clara was asleep in a chair next to her bed, face distressed through sleep.

"You're awake," a voice said from the other side of her bed, startling her a little. She turned to see her mother standing next to the bed, hands clasped tightly in front of her. "Here. Drink this," she urged, pressing a warm mug into her younger daughter's hand.

Kath obeyed, and stared at her mother. What was going on?

"I don't…understand," she finally admitted after her mother had watched her gulp down the warm broth.

The queen's eyebrows knit together, and she stared at Kath in confusion. "What do you mean?" she questioned, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

Kath's eyes travelled around her room, becoming more aware of the warmth of the room compared to how chilled she felt. Something was wrong, and yet she had no recollection of it. "What's going on?" she whispered. "Did something happen to me? Why are you in here, and why isn't Clara in her bed, and…" she trailed off, suddenly feeling overcome by emotions.

"Shhh!" the queen urged, cutting Kath off by pulling her into a tight hug. Kath relaxed slightly, suddenly feeling like a small child in her mother's embrace. "It'll all be okay, Kath. However, you need rest for right now," she whispered. The queen glanced across to the other side of the bed and saw that Clara had awoken from her slumber.

"Kath?" Clara breathed in awe, then stood up and joined her mother in hugging Kath. "Kath! You're awake!" While Kath was dressed in a nightgown, her older sister had neglected to change out of her ballgown from the night before, having spent the entire night after returning from the ice witch's castle at her sister's bedside.

The three women sat for a few moments, just holding each other, when finally, the queen drew back, her eyes misty. She looked at her two daughters, and gave them a sad smile. "I'm so glad you two are okay," she whispered.

There was a pause, before Kath spoke. "What happened?" she demanded.

Clara shifted her gaze to her sister, and raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean? You don't remember running away last night?"

Kath's jaw dropped and a shiver ran up her spine, no longer just from how cold she felt. She had no recollection whatsoever of the night before, and a jolt of anger burst through her. Why couldn't she remember? "No…I just remember…" she paused, willing her brain to think of the last thing that she had done the night before. "We were at the ball…and Clara," she paused to smile at her sister through her confusion. "You and Roland are engaged!" The queen and older princess exchanged smiles; at least Kath was smiling. However, the grin fell from her face when she continued. "And then I was with Vincent, and we had an argument…" she trailed off, and a hint of fear entered her eyes. "And then I thought that I came back here…"

Reaching to take her sister's hand, Clara gave her an inquisitive look. "You mean…you don't remember leaving here? At all?"

Kath's eyes filled with tears, and she shook her head. "No!" she cried. "What happened?"

The queen glanced at her older daughter, silently granting her permission to explain the events of the night before to her sister. However, before Clara could begin, a knock sounded on the door. "Come in," the queen called. The door opened, and the king walked in, followed by a man that Kath vaguely remembered. "Healer Thatcher," the queen greeted, giving the man a nod.

The man walked to Kath's bedside, and began to observe her carefully. "How are you feeling, Your Highness?" he questioned after a couple of moments.

"I—I don't know…" Kath admitted, allowing the tears to fall from her eyes. Honestly, she was terrified, confused, and wished that she could have some space to herself until she understood what was happening. There was another feeling that she felt, but couldn't quite describe it…it almost felt like dread. "I don't understand."

"She doesn't remember last night," Queen Isabelle explained to the healer.

"What?" King Edmund snapped, taking a step closer to the bed his younger daughter was laying on.

"Edmund…" the queen soothed, looking at her husband. A silent exchange took place between the two, and the king relaxed slightly.

Healer Thatcher crouched down to look Kath in the eye. "I've checked you over a few times through the night, Your Highness," he began. "And you seem perfectly healthy, other than the fact that you were incredibly cold last night when your sister and Prince Roland returned you to the castle. Do you really not remember anything?"

Kath shook her head, wishing that her family would leave her alone. Why did they keep asking her if she remembered? What had happened?

"Why don't we leave and let you rest again, Kath?" Queen Isabelle suggested, sensing that her daughter was feeling overcrowded. Kath nodded, but refused to look at any of her visitors. When she heard the door close, she looked up and discovered that Clara had even retreated to her half of the room to allow Kath to be completely alone.

"Clara?" she choked out, then internally scolded herself for the croak that came out, realizing that her voice was hoarse from holding back her tears when her parents and the healer were in the room.

The older princess immediately rushed to her sister's side, but refrained from touching her. Clara knew that when Kath was upset, she rarely wanted to be touched by others. "Yes, Kath?" she answered, attempting to give her sister a smile.

"Will you please explain to me what happened last night?" Kath whispered. Clara nodded and took a seat in the chair she had just vacated. Before beginning, she took a deep breath.

"You ran away after the ball last night. Roland and I talked to each other, and we decided it was probably because you were so upset by the argument that you and Prince Vincent had." She swallowed, as if the memories were painful for her to recall. "You went to the forest, and then it started snowing. At some point you found the old castle that we found that one time when we were younger. You went inside, and I think you talked with a woman there, and she had magic—ice magic."

Again, that shiver that was starting to become all too familiar to Kath ran up her spine once more. Ice magic?

Clara continued, not noticing her sister's face pale. "She captured you, and she was preparing to curse you I think. By then, Roland and I had figured out that you were gone, and we came after you. I don't know what happened before we got there, but the ice witch trapped all three of us, and she was going to curse me. When she actually went to use the curse, you jumped in front of it, and it hit you instead…" she paused, allowing her sister to soak in all of the information that she was just told. "Healer Thatcher has looked you over, and he doesn't think the curse has any lasting effect, but he really wasn't sure. He thinks that since you jumped in front of the curse that was meant for me, it didn't affect you as much."

"What happened to the witch?" Kath asked after a few moments. After hearing the story, that was her biggest concern. Any witch that wanted to curse either herself or her sister was most certainly a danger to the entire kingdom.

"She died, we think," the older princess clarified. "There was a blast when it hit you, and it hit her. The entire castle collapsed."

The two sisters sat in silence for a few moments, both allowing the events of the night before sink in. Kath was feeling incredibly overwhelmed by the information, and tried to imagine what must have been going through her mind for her to have run away—especially as far as she must have gone.

After a few minutes, she felt herself suddenly being enveloped by Clara's arms as her older sister pulled her into a tight hug. "Never do that again," Clara said softly.

A small smile appeared on the younger princess's face. "Do what?"

"Step in front of a curse to save me from it!" Clara exclaimed, as if it couldn't be any more obvious, and there was a lingering fear laced to her tone.

Kath let a small chuckle escape from her. "Well…next time we're facing an evil witch who would like to curse one of us, I'll make sure to let you endure it without any interference from me," she joked.

"That wasn't what I meant," Clara snapped, giving her sister a glare. How could Kath be joking in a time like this?

The slightly offended tone that Clara had taken on had lightened Kath's mood some—enough to make her start feeling a little bit better. She was safe, she was starting to warm up, and Clara was here by her side, like always. "Well then what did you mean?"

"I…uh…" Clara began to stammer, "Th-thank you?" The way she said it sounded more like a question than an actual thanks.

Kath took her sister's hand and squeezed it. "I would never have let that curse hit you. I love you too much, Clara."

"I love you too, Kath," Clara told her younger sister, pulling her into a tight hug again, letting tears fall from her eyes.

For a moment, Kath allowed her sister to hold her, but then decided that her sister was having too many emotions for her own liking, and gave her a small push away. "Gosh, Clara. You're an emotional wreck," she stated plainly. Clara stared at her, her mouth agape, then realized that her sister was teasing.

"Well, can you blame me?" she questioned, laughing with her sister. "In the last twenty-four hours, I've thought that the love of my life had forgotten me, gotten engaged to that same man, spent an entire night dancing and answering millions of questions about the wedding that I have to plan now, discovered that my younger sister ran away into the wild in the middle of a blizzard, went chasing after her with my brand new fiancé, found her in the middle of an ice castle, was almost cursed by an evil ice witch, and then had to run for my life out of a collapsing castle of ice while carrying your unconscious body. I'd say I have the right to be a little bit emotional!"

Kath grinned. "I suppose you do…" Clara stuck her tongue out at her younger sister. "Now, what time is it? Can I have some breakfast or lunch or something? I'm starved!"

* * *

Later that evening after dinner, Prince Roland was walking back to the guest room that he was staying in when he passed the king's office. The door was open, and when he glanced inside, he was surprised to find the king sitting at his desk in the room. The lights were low, and the king seemed to be very concentrated on a letter that he was writing.

King Edmund looked up from his work when he heard someone pass the door, and he smiled when he saw that it was his future son-in-law. "Roland!" he called as he and Roland made eye contact. Roland gave him a smile. "Come in! I'd like to talk to you."

For a moment the prince froze, wondering what the king of Corona wanted to speak with him about. He took a deep breath, then entered the large office, attempting to calm his nerves. "Your Majesty," he greeted, giving the king a quick bow.

"Thank you for the formalities, Roland, but you really can stop them if you'd like. Soon we'll be family. Clara and Katherine do not walk in here and bow every time that I want to talk to them," the king said with a wicked smile. Roland imagined his fiancée and her sister stopping to bow every time they entered the office, and he felt himself chuckle to himself.

Roland hoped that his face wasn't turning red. "Well, thank you, Your Majesty. I will remember that."

The king laughed. "Have a seat, please, Roland." Roland did as he was told, sitting up straight in the chair, his hands clenched in his lap. What did the king want to talk to him about? The possibilities were endless…

"First of all, Roland, I'd like to offer you a thank-you for your act of heroism last night. I don't think that I can express enough thanks to you for saving not only one of my daughters, but both of them from an unspeakable fate that may have ruined both of their lives."

Roland's face reddened, and he stared at the king. "I assure you sir, I was just doing what my gut told me to do. I never once thought of doing anything other than getting both Clara and Katherine out of danger as quickly as I could."

"And that, Roland, is what will make you a great king someday," King Edmund stated, looking Roland straight in the eye. "You know the difference between right and wrong, and you have what really matters at heart. I couldn't be prouder of Clara's choice of husband."

For a few seconds, Roland stared at King Edmund, speechless. He certainly had not been expecting Clara's father to shower him with compliments. "I—uh—thank you, sir," he stammered eventually, clearing his throat. After another pause, he began to regret the ineloquent way the thanks had left his mouth.

Again, the king laughed. "I mean it, Roland. I know that when that someday comes when my Isabelle and I will no longer be ruling, we will be leaving Corona in excellent hands." Roland nodded in acknowledgement of the compliment. "That being said, during the next few months before the wedding, I would like for you to spend some time here with me in my office, learning how Corona is run."

Roland swallowed, but nodded silently, suddenly filled with an extra sense of duty.

"Even after the wedding, you will have additional responsibilities," the king continued. "You'll become my right-hand man, and help me to make choices that will be in the best interest of Corona. Are you willing to do that?"

Roland nodded enthusiastically. "Of course, Your Majesty!" In the back of his mind, his stomach flipped with the thought of spending more time in Corona—he'd get to see Clara more often.

"Good," King Edmund responded, a proud smile on his face. "Now, you are dismissed." Roland stood up awkwardly, trying to remember how to make his legs work again, and began to move toward the door before the king spoke again. "But do know this one thing, Roland…If you ever do anything to upset Clara, I have the power to have you removed and banned from all of Corona. Don't ever forget that." The prince turned and made eye-contact with the king, and a shiver ran down his spine.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Roland responded, nodding. The king looked back down at his desk, and Roland took that as a cue to leave the office.

* * *

**Author's Note: Thank you for reading! The next section of this story will focus on wedding planning with Clara and Roland. It'll be pretty interesting, and Clara will soon get to meet Roland's family! Stay tuned for more! :) Thank you again for reading! I'm so thankful for all of you and your interest in this story!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Note: Hello! I have another update! Yay! This story is really starting to head toward some more exciting parts, so thank you to everyone still reading! I am still very excited about this story, and I am excited for all of you to read where it heads next. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Frozen or Tangled. **

**Also, I'd like to give a couple of shout-outs to the two reviewers who reviewed after the last chapter! Thank you so much for your reviews! Here are my responses to them:**

**Guest: I'm glad you're excited to meet Roland's family! I'm excited for them to be introduced. **

**Random Writer: Thank you so much for your review! I really enjoyed hearing your thoughts in it. You are absolutely correct in everything that you said. Kath is still looking for her true love. Also, while I have modeled this story after a more historically accurate European setting, I decided to keep some Disney-esque air in it because it is a Disney FanFiction. I think that traditional European politics would get in the way of what this story is actually about. Thank you for reading this story! I hope that you continue to enjoy it!**

**On with the story!**

* * *

"Well how about just vanilla?" Clara suggested, her tone slightly annoyed. She and Roland had been arguing now for over an hour on various topics in their wedding planning. So far, they had yet to agree on any of the details that Clara had carefully listed on a sheet of parchment that sat in between them on the table.

"Vanilla is so plain. How about we get some sort of flavoring added to it?" Roland responded, his tone much calmer than his fiancée's.

Clara shot him a glare across the table. "You said that you didn't want the strawberry cream kind, or the mint kind. We're already going to have chocolate truffles, so we can't have chocolate cake too!"

Roland raised an eyebrow. "You like chocolate. It's our wedding. We can just have a lot of chocolate."

The princess rolled her eyes and slid back in her chair. Roland grinned at the very unladylike posture she was sitting with, and gave her foot a nudge under the table.

"Chin up, Clara. We'll figure it out," he said.

"We're terrible compromisers…" Clara groaned loudly. "How in the world are we ever going to learn how to run a kingdom together?"

The couple heard a chuckle from the doorway of the small sitting room, and they both turned to see who had overheard their conversation. The king and queen of Corona stood in the doorway, and the queen was covering her mouth to suppress a giggle.

"You two remind me of your mother and me," the king said, entering the room. He allowed Isabelle to take a seat on the small lounger, and he sat down next to her.

Clara raised an eyebrow and exchanged a confused look with Roland. "You mean you two didn't know how to agree either?"

Isabelle smiled. "Darling, we still don't know how to agree sometimes," she stated. Laughter danced in her eyes. "You were almost not given a name because the two of us couldn't agree on one."

The king laughed. "You didn't have a name until you were over a week old because we still couldn't decide."

The princess's jaw dropped. "Really?" she asked. "How come you never told me any of this?" Before she allowed her parents to answer, she looked at Roland. "We're going to decide on our children's names at least five months before they're born," she told him. His face turned a shade of pink.

"So how did you end up making decisions?" Roland asked his future in-laws, hoping a change of subject would make his face fade back to its normal color.

The king and queen glanced at each other and shrugged. "It depends on the situation."

Edmund continued, saying, "When we were planning our wedding, I think we made most of our decisions through random little games like 'Name the Most Colors,' or 'Race You to the Fountain in the Garden."

The princess continued to stare at her parents, in awe. "You're serious?" she asked. Roland grinned at her obvious shock. It wasn't often that Clara was so openly dumbfounded, and he was enjoying the moment while it lasted.

"Yes," Isabelle told her. "It seems silly, but it worked."

Clara eyed her fiancé, whose expression had suddenly turned to slightly bewildered after seeing the mischievous glint in her green eyes.

"I don't feel like running anywhere right now, Clara…" he began, but was interrupted by her yelling.

"First one to the library gets to choose the flavor of cake!"

The princess took off running from the room, her parents laughing at her sudden energy.

"Sometimes I wonder if I'm going to be able to keep up with your daughter," Roland informed the king and queen as he stood up from his place at the table.

Edmund gave him a grin. "At least you got this one. It's the other one that I'm worried about. Bless the man who manages to tie that young lady down. He'll have his hands full."

Roland shrugged. From what he'd seen, the sisters were equal in energy, but they used it in different ways. Clara most often used her energy in heated arguments and outsmarting whomever she pleased. Kath used her energy in staying up late reading books and occasionally taking a lap around the castle in pursuit of someone who made her mad. That person was usually Clara, and he attempted to stay out of the petty arguments the sisters sometimes had.

"I should go chase her down," Roland said, sighing dramatically as he walked toward the door that had been left hanging open after Clara's dramatic exit.

The king and queen exchanged looks before Roland left, and the king cleared his throat. Roland turned back around to look at his future in-laws. "I wish she hadn't run off," the queen began. "This would be important for her to hear too."

"Just remember that in the end, the flavor of cake you have, the type of flowers, and the location that you choose to have the reception won't really matter in the end. As long as you end the day happily married, everything will be perfectly fine," the king told him kindly. Roland noticed with a slight blush that Edmund and Isabelle were holding hands.

"Yes, sir," Roland replied, giving them both a smile before he turned and left the room in pursuit of his fiancé.

* * *

He made it down the hallway and was about to turn into the corridor with the library in it when he ran into exactly who he was looking for. "Clara!" he said in shock.

"Roland!" Clara responded, her exasperation obvious in her tone. Though she was a head shorter than him, he felt slightly intimidated by the glare that she wore on her face. Pointing her finger at him, and backing him up against the wall, she said, "We're not going to get any decisions made about this wedding if you're not willing to actually play these games with me. At this rate, I'll just be spending all of my time hunting you down when you don't want to make a decision."

Roland smiled and gently grabbed the hand that she was using to wave her finger in his face. "I'm sorry, dear," he began, using the sweetest tone he could muster. "I was just talking to your parents."

Clara's annoyance faded and turned into concern. "Oh," she stated.

"It was nothing bad!" Roland quickly assured her. "But they gave me a little bit of a reminder, and I think that it would be good for you to hear it too."

Arm-in-arm, the engaged couple began to walk down the hallway, this time headed to the garden. "In the end, Clara, I really don't care what color scheme we use for the wedding, or what time of the afternoon we hold the wedding, or how many people are at the wedding versus the reception. What really matters to me is that we end the day married and that I get to spend the rest of my life with you by my side."

The princess stopped and stared at him for a moment, a look of horror on her face. "You're right. We've been having all of these arguments and wasting so much energy on planning this silly wedding that I guess we've both forgotten the whole reason why all of this is going on. I'm sorry," she said simply. Roland smiled at her and planted a quick kiss on her forehead.

"I'm sorry too," he told her. "But we still haven't decided what kind of cake we want to have," he added with a mischievous glimmer in his blue eyes. "Race you to the fountain."

Roland took off running, and Clara stood in shock for a moment, staring at his figure as it receded down the hallway. To herself, she muttered, "I was going to say we could have more than one type of cake…"

"Clara!" Roland called from the doorway to outside from the end of the hallway, and she grinned at him.

"I'm coming!" she responded, picking up her skirts and taking off running after him. They might as well have a little bit of fun with this planning…

* * *

**Author's Note: Thank you all for reading this far! Wow! Twenty chapters is a lot! (For me, at least.) Thank you to everyone who has been following this story, and to those of you who are just now beginning to read it. There's still a long ways to go before the ending, so hold on tight! There will hopefully be another update before the summer is over, so watch for it! THANK YOU! :)**


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